Chinmoku -Silence- (Kisame x OC)
by FanficWolfess17
Summary: The forest is quiet. All but two wolves have been killed. With them is a girl who considers them her only family in a world of painful memories and hatred. Strange humans in cloaks appear, disrupting her meager peace. When the humans are attacked by mountain lions, only one of them gets away. The other is mortally wounded and left behind by his partner. Will she leave him to die?
1. Prologue

A change in the wind caught the girl's attention. Rather, it was the aura it carried that was unnerving. Hesitation gripped the birds hidden among the highest branches, as if they were unsure whether to continue singing. The odd atmosphere raked over her nerves like hot coals. She looked to the two wolves next to her, giving them a questioning gaze. _You sensed that as well, right?_

The white wolf glanced in her direction and nodded. The single black band of fur on his head furrowed as he narrowed his eyes toward the distance. His brother, the black wolf, flattened his ears and growled with his fur spiking.

_Such a destructive aura._ The girl sniffed the air, trying to catch the scent on the breeze. Human. About three miles north. Could it be a hunter come to take another head? It had to be. Humans never came through this place otherwise. This forest was too far out of anyone's way to be a walk in the park.

Many wolves had met their end this season. Not one of them deserved it. She remembered the image of the she-wolf that raised her from nine years of age falling to the ground. Her eyes instantly glazed over as red matted the sun-blonde fur on her head. The girl pulled back her lip and bared her teeth at the thought, holding back a cry of sadness. Her mother, her pack, did not attack humans unless self defense was required. Simply a fact. The last time that happened was years ago and the human was at fault. But hunters had the audacity to kill her family anyway.

This was the last time.

_Get ready hunter,_ she thought. From the tenseness that surrounded the two wolves, the girl knew her brothers were thinking the same thing. All it would take is crossing the territory line and there would be enough cause. Once they entered, they would not get out alive.

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><p><strong>Holy freaking butter, this is the first story I've posted on here! Finally worked up the nerve, is what happened XD There's a whole bunch of chapters I've written and I'm not even close to being done, so be ready for a lot of reading! ;D And please let me know what you think and if you have any suggestions!<strong>

**Thank you!**

**~ Wolf**


	2. The Trespassers

Kisame walked next to his partner as they neared the forested mountain. Most of the area was flecked with patches of snow, but it would disappear tomorrow.

After their last fight with a group of ninja that had been on their tail, he was feeling rather bored. He hadn't even needed to use Samehada to take them out. The fight was practically over as soon as Itachi paralyzed them with genjutsu. The shark-like man did not dare complain about it aloud right now though. He didn't want to find out if Itachi was impatient enough to use the Sharingan on him.

Their mission in the Land of Snow was tiring. Both used over half their chakra in battle and were recovering at a horribly slow pace. Walking uphill certainly didn't help. Luckily the group that attacked them before were weak in comparison.

As far as where they were now, they have never taken this route through the Land of Lightning before. The only reason they came this way was to hopefully throw off any more trackers. "How far do you think we have left to go?"

"Two days…possibly," Itachi answered simply. Then he was silent again.

Kisame sighed. He thought there were two more days yesterday. Though in hindsight, he hadn't asked.

Moonlight shined through the trees and dappled the ground. They had been walking since early morning. Soon it would be too dark to see where they were going. "Why don't we stop and rest for the night? We can make up the ground tomorrow."

Itachi paused for a moment. "Very well."

They found a fairly secluded clearing and set up camp. Kisame ended up doing most of the work, gathering wood, setting traps around the perimeter, etcetera. He loathed his partner for it. All he did was get a fire going. _Lazy Uchiha…_

He sat against a boulder and opened his bag to see what food he had left, which wasn't much. Had he known they were going to change routes and were going to be traveling this long, he would have packed more. But evidently this was not the case. Kisame closed the bag and tossed it aside. _Whatever. I wasn't hungry anyway._

He took off his cloak, using it for a makeshift blanket, and leaned back with his hands behind his head. Only the crackling of the flames kept the silence of the night broken.

Itachi just sat on a log, staring expressionless into the fire. Sometimes Kisame couldn't help but wonder what went on in the Uchiha's mind. Knowing a bit of his past, most likely it was something twisted. Or maybe he didn't think of anything at all. The last option suited him better.

"I take it you're not going to sleep?"

Itachi ignored the question and remained silent.

Kisame shrugged and closed his eyes.

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><p><strong>Short chapter again. .-. Don't worry, I promise that will change. :T <strong>

**Thanks for reading!**

**~Wolf**


	3. Forest of Dangers

The girl and the black wolf moved quickly among the branches of trees. White crescent moon shaped marks on his cheeks and a white tipped tail let her know where he was in the darkness. Their territory was two miles behind them and she sent the white wolf in a separate direction so they could corner the enemy. She would have come this way by herself, but she knew her brothers felt uneasy at the thought of leaving her alone. So she relented to their wishes for now.

Originally the plan was to let the hunter come across the border of their territory and put an end to them there, but that quickly changed with the girl's misgivings. If another human came by and saw carnage on their side of the border it would give birth to more hunters coming to take revenge. Peace for the wolves would be unattainable then. But if they ended this now and covered their tracks….._Perfect._

Shouts cut through air, quickly followed by the roaring of predators. It sounded like a fight. Did something else find the hunter before she did? The girl had to see and confirm for herself. She would feel more at ease if this was the case. Then she and the remaining wolves would have no chance of being blamed.

Her brother chuffed, telling the girl that it was only a little farther to the area. She signaled him to fall back a pace. He looked at her and reluctantly agreed as she continued ahead.

What she saw when she came to the clearing didn't surprise her. A small group of mountain lions were attacking a pair of humans, who was doing a sloppy job of fighting back. Mountain cats were notorious for attacking anything in their path if it smelled like food, and one of them ripped and tore at a bag near the edge of the clearing. _Stupid hunter,_ the girl scoffed. Everyone with common sense knew enough to keep things like that either locked up or well hidden to keep predators from finding it, and in turn finding them.

The girl could smell it too and was reminded her of her own empty stomach, having not eaten in days. Because there were no hunting parties for the pack anymore, due to being wiped out by hunters, she and her brothers had to fend for themselves. The problem, however, was prey had begun to move on for the coming winter and quickly became scarce while she and the wolves were stuck on the mountain. The pass to the other side was far too treacherous for them this time of year without a trail to follow, and snow hiding the drop-offs and cliffs made matters all the worse. It was safer to starve.

Motion out of the corner of her eye interrupted her thoughts. Another figure; a man with black hair and wearing a black cloak with red clouds.

Strange. The girl only remembered the aura of one person, but the dim firelight revealed two people here. And now that she got a somewhat closer look….they didn't seem to be hunters. Especially the giant one. He was human, no doubt, but a bizarre one. No hunter she knew of looked like a human shark.

No matter. The girl sat on a branch low enough to watch the show below her but high enough she wouldn't likely be seen. She could call her brothers if she needed to because they were always close by.

Soon the cougar that went after the bag lost interest and joined the others by going after the shorter man. He already seemed to be struggling with it, using a fire jutsu that was pitiful at best. After sixteen seconds he switched to using kunai. It was always when hunters lost, but somehow this man kept going. Barely. He was able to avoid the cougar's teeth and claws, but the cloak got torn at the arm.

The shark man was having similar troubles and the girl could see he was wearing down quickly. Though she did find it interesting he was holding his own against three of the predators despite the fact they were half his size at the height of their backs.

He retaliated against one lion by using a water jutsu that put it to the ground. One down, two to go.

Another leapt at him. Catching it by its foreleg, he threw it to the ground and pinned it. He was about to finish it off, but the second lashed out and the giant was forced to release his grip on the pinned cougar and jump away to avoid the blow.

_ He's doing considerably well in comparison to the other one…._ the girl thought. Even she was only able to fight one mountain lion at a time unless her brothers were with her. Then she would have the ability to fight two at once. But this man was a stranger to the forest. _….for an outsider anyway._ She snorted in self-irritation. Why should she care? He was just a human after all.

The shark man tried to avoid the two cougars lunging at him simultaneously and he unknowingly landed right between the paws of an unexpected fourth lion. Horrible mistake. The matriarch was almost three times the size of the others and had waited in the shadows for the right moment.

From her position the girl had seen the female ahead of time, but the shark man didn't and hardly had time to blink before the lioness used a full forced swat of its paw to send him flying into one of the boulders, causing the whole clearing to quake with the impact.

Shards of rock and blood sprayed through the air in the form of dust. When it settled and cleared the girl saw the giant's shirt was torn. She could see a long gash above his belly and another that stretched from chest to shoulder, all from where the lioness's claws gouged him, and blood trailed from his mouth as he coughed in agony.

The sight made the girl flinch and dig her nails into the scars on her arm to keep anxiety and nausea at bay. Her eyes were widened in shock. In a way she could feel what the shark man was going through. It was like a curse she could so easily imagine herself in that position and feel the pain as well. She hated it.

A thought crossed her mind. _These aren't hunters at all._ If they wanted to so much as touch the wolves they would not be in such a sorry condition to begin with.

Suddenly the lions' attention diverted. The shorter human had turned to run and the lions now tailed him out of instinct to kill whatever moved, leaving the shark man to bleed out where he lay.


	4. Forest of Dangers (Kisame's POV)

It was little over a few hours after he fell asleep that the mountain cats appeared. Startled as he sounded, Itachi had to have been asleep as well. Whatever brought them here, the pair was in danger. And the predators were between him and Samehada, so Kisame was on his own for this.

_How did they avoid the traps?! That should have either stopped them or warned us at least!_ One of the cats charged him with its claws extended and he quickly sealed a water-bomb jutsu to retaliate. The second cougar did the same, but Kisame refrained from using any more chakra. Pushing it any farther would be akin to suicide. Instead, he threw a series of shuriken. The animal was so quick the weapon missed its target. There was no way it should be that fast! No. That's not it. Kisame was the one who was slowing down.

When the lion came close enough, he grabbed its foreleg and threw it to the ground, pinning it so it couldn't move. He was about to kill it with a kunai when the third mountain cat lashed a series of claws at him, forcing Kisame to jump away before he could finish the job. He stood panting, stamina nearly depleted. At this rate….

The two cougars lunged at him at the same time and Kisame did his best to evade. A low feline growl bellowed behind him. _Another one?!_ He glanced back. It was massive! The others looked like nothing but kittens next to it!

Before he could move out of the way it snarled and hit him with a powerful lightning-fast blow, sending him crashing into the boulder behind him and causing it to crush under the impact.

Kisame slumped to the ground and gagged when he felt his broken ribs. "Ugh!" _Damn it all!_ If he hadn't used so much chakra in the Land of Snow, and if he hadn't been so stupid to drop his guard at the last second, he wouldn't be in this fix.

Itachi's eyes landed on him and shouted in alarm. "Kisame!" His expression wasn't any different from before, but it was obvious he couldn't last much longer on his own. Kisame wanted to tell him to run, but he couldn't find the strength to lift his voice let alone move. The pain was too great to ignore.

His partner, whether he got the message or not, took off. The lions instantly roared and started after him, leaving Kisame in the clearing. At least Itachi had a chance to get away unlike him. There was no reason for both of them to not get back to the base.

Twigs and branches snapped as the chase went on. After a while Kisame couldn't hear it anymore, and he slipped into the darkness of his mind.


	5. Dead in the Night

The girl waited until all was quiet, and what little light from the fire burnt out, before whistling softly to call the wolves. She jumped down from her branch and stood in the clearing, examining the mess. Not one grain of earth was left unturned in the fight, the humans' belongings were scattered this way and that, claw marks from the mountain lions scarred the trees…. _Of course,_ the girl thought with an exasperated sigh. She didn't like seeing any part of the forest in such ruin.

A cloak like what the shorter man was wearing lay in a pile of itself a couple feet away from her. She went and picked it up out of curiosity. It had the shark man's scent all over it. Weird that it calmed her a bit.

Her brothers appeared on separate sides of the clearing and kept padding forward until they met with their sister. The white wolf took a step toward her and sniffed the cloak. He wrinkled his nose and snuffed. His yellow gaze was no doubt a question. _Why in the world would you want to even touch that?_

The girl didn't have an answer for her brother. Or for herself for that matter. She just shrugged. _I don't know…_

Pacing back and forth, the black wolf pressed his nose to the ground. He moaned at what the girl was sure he was finding. The strongest scents were of fear, cougars, and blood, which was everywhere. Knowing she could say the same for her brothers, the girl knew how much their throats stung.

After assessing the area both wolves' gazes drifted across the clearing to the giant who was thrown against the boulder. The black wolf was the first to move toward him, followed by his brother and their sister. They tread tentatively. None of them liked the idea of being so close to an outsider. When they were only a yard away, they stopped.

It made the girl sick to her stomach to see the condition the shark man was in. She knew he had several broken ribs from how smashed and bloody his torso was. His right arm was broken too. Blood still dripped from the nerve-grinding wounds the fourth mountain lion had dealt on and below his chest and he was barely breathing. He wasn't dead yet, but he soon would be if this dragged on.

Now that she knew he was not a hunter and he was practically too weak to successfully defend himself in the fight, she felt awful for having done nothing but watch as he got slaughtered and the other man abandon him. _Keh. Typical human,_ she thought in disgust. It was just like them to leave their comrades to die so they could save their own traitorous skins.

There was no doubt the violent aura she sensed earlier that day had come from this man but, as he slowly bled to death, his aura started to soften into nothing. _Curses!_ She angrily growled under her breath. The cloak became bunched up and hot in her fists. How dare he make her feel compassion for him?

Slight movement in the dark caught her eyes. The mountain lion the giant had fought against was trying to recover from its ordeal. The malice in its glinting eyes was unmistakable, craving to kill.

_Not on my watch, you ugly cat!_ The girl picked up one of the scattered kunai near her feet and effortlessly threw it at the cougar's head. The weapon lodged deep within the cat's skull and became drenched in red, putting it down permanently.

Her attention rested on the shark man again; unsure of what to do next. What could she possibly do? She hated humans for a lot of reasons; one in particular. It was something she could never get past. But was it right to blame this man for what her parents did? What they tried to do?

Her white furred brother must have read her thoughts because he whined impatiently. He was right. _If we don't make a decision, he'll either die or continue to suffer until put out of his misery…._

The black wolf stuck his nose and tail in the air, meaning clear enough. _Let the fool die._

The girl snarled at him and roughly cuffed his muzzle. He jumped away in surprise. She had never shown such anger toward either of them before. She did not understand why her brother's attitude toward the shark man made her so angry all of the sudden.

For a moment longer, she let her gaze remain on the giant. Watching as he struggled in his fatal state, and again she was aware of the cloak in her hands. Then she sighed. A hard decision to make, but her mind was made up.


	6. Not dead?

When Kisame awoke, it didn't register right away that he wasn't where he should be. He was supposed to be dead, right? His body was numb and distant at first, but when he opened his eyes it suddenly felt like thousands of needles were being stuck into his skin all at once.

Gritting his teeth, he tried to ignore it to focus. _Where am I?_ It was then he realized he couldn't move. Every muscle was frozen in place and he could just feel the slight tug of stitches, wherever those came from. Great. Just great. Since sitting up wasn't an option, Kisame just glanced around.

It was dim, but the light outside let him see enough. Rock walls curved into each other to make a ceiling and there were head sized holes carved out of the rock closest to the ground. Each one had a different kind of plant stored in it. A few of them had small wooden boxes inside as well as a few weapons. Obviously someone lived here.

The entrance was easily seen from where he lay on the hard surface of the cave floor. Straw grass grew as tall as the mouth of the cave and beyond it Kisame could see snow falling like dust over the ground. Completely quiet. It would be comforting except he knew he wasn't alone here.

A white mound lifted from the ground and turned into the cave. Before it moved the animal blended in with the snowy ground except for the black band of color on its forehead, assumed to be a shadow. Now that it stood, he saw it was clearly no shadow and the size of a grizzly bear. Kisame automatically sat up as a reflex of shock then grabbed his right arm. It snapped and popped, bursting in flames of pain when he tried to bend it. _What the hell is wrong with my arm?!_ Then he felt the brunt of how much pain the rest of his body was in. "Aaargh!"

His cries made the wolf jump back in surprise and dart out of the cave barking. It wasn't long before it came back followed by an equally large black wolf with white moon markings on either side of its face. The look it gave Kisame...if looks alone could kill... Beads of sweat formed on his skin. Were they going to attack him?

That's when a girl hurried into the cave, her bare bandage-wrapped feet tapping on the floor as she got between the two animals. When she saw Kisame, her eyes widened and she rushed over to him. She knelt next to him and whined with a concerned look in her eyes. They flickered from a previous color, which he didn't catch, to a dark and almost black shade of blue.

"What do _you_ want?" He choked on his words as another, stronger wave of pain hit him. The girl's eyes narrowed and she whimpered. She put her hands on his shoulder and lightly pressed back, urging him to lie down.

However gentle she was attempting to be, it felt like a hard punch. "Ow!" He swung his left arm at the girl and she fell backwards to avoid it. She stared at him as her eye color once again changed. They were bright yellow now and she appeared to be shocked. "Get away from me, you brat!" The harsh movements caused his muscles to scream in protest and he grimaced while clutching his injuries.

Snarling, the black wolf ran at him. Kisame was too concentrated in trying to force the pain away to even think about moving and his body wouldn't let him even if he wanted to. He could see the canine's teeth bared with every intention to shred him.

The girl pulled herself out of shock and scrambled to get to her feet. When she couldn't right away, she settled with rolling onto her knees. To Kisame's surprise she moved herself directly into the path of the wolf, just as it came bearing down at his head with its fangs.

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><p><strong>Wow, I didn't think so many people would have followed this story aalready! And I haven't even posted everything I have so far O_O Thanks a bunch, guys! :D<strong>

**Ssomething I noticed is someone was wondering how Kisame and Itachi had there butts collectively whooped by bunch of lions in the previous chapters. Well, first of all, this ain't a normal forest, bro, and those weren't your run-of-the-mill cougars. You'll hear more about that later. Second, I explained their lack of chakra from the get go. Geez, they're AKATSUKI for crying out loud! Yes they're tougher than nails, but that would tend to reason that they would naturally go on missions that would require a hella bunch of energy that could potentially leave them drained right? Right! Akatsuki-ing is serious biz! So whoever it was that commented about that recently (Anonymus!), you have your answer ;)**

**Now then. Moving on! :D**


	7. Wolf's POV (Earlier in the Forest)

**REWIND! Let's see what was happening from Otouto's point of view! ;)**

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><p>The black wolf and his sister were out in the snow scavenging for whatever prey might be running around. Winter wasn't quite here yet but it was close. It wouldn't be long before most of the prey was gone for the season. The elk herds had already left, so that was half the usual food supply. Then there were the smaller animals, easier to hunt despite competition from the big cats but not much meat on them; another two-thirds that dwindled with the cold. Everything else came from the meager berries and roots that either withered from early frost or was eaten by other animals of the forest.<p>

If they didn't search now, this could very possibly be their _last_ season. The wolf didn't worry for himself, however. It was his sister. She was strong and skilled like he and his brother, but she was not born suited for this harsh lifestyle.

When she came to the forest as a human pup and was taken in by his mother, his sister started off struggling with what the wolves had to teach her. Basic hunting being the worst. And she complained during nights of rain and cold, waking most pack members who could not ignore her cries and sleep through it. On top of that, she was afraid to take part in socializing with older members for fear of angering them, which happened often. It was apparent she wasn't meant for this wild life.

Or so they thought.

A year passed, and his adopted sister caught on more quickly to the traditional training, and she became the most skilled fighter and protector of the pack. She learned well to respect her superiors and never played with cubs too roughly. She knew what each flick of the ear or paw meant in the wolf language and how to use the motions accordingly if she was able. Her dedication to the pack stunned the eldest members as they only ever knew humans to be stupid, in a sense, and unkind.

His sister still used what she knew as a human to her advantage at times, but that didn't change anything. She was...one of them. Never again seen as human to the pack though she walked on two legs.

The wolf lowered his ears, but not enough for his sister to know his thoughts. It was those early days that fed his misgivings. He couldn't help but feel that his sister was still a crying human pup that needed every ounce of care and protection he could give. Not at all confident in her like his brother, who felt the same urge to protect their sister though believed she could very well fend for herself if need be.

A whisper of sound made the girl halt and quickly but quietly drop to all-fours into the frosted grass, her eyes gleaming with anticipation. The wolf quickly followed suit, allowing his gaze to drift to what his sister saw. A gray-furred rabbit hopped through the snow, not noticing it was being seen as prey.

Seeing his sister inch forward and glance in his direction before continuing, the wolf realized she wanted this hunt. He completely settled himself to the ground, showing his acceptance. After all, he had the last hunt.

Before she got any closer, she reached into a pouch she had made from her old clothing and pulled out some kind of dagger. One the wolf remembered seeing in the clearing when the big cats had attacked a pair of humans. Did his sister keep one of them? It was not like the usual weapons she normally gathered.

In the past there were some days when she was nowhere to be found. Turned out she had gone to abandoned human dens and brought back all kinds of simple things that helped her to manage herself and train. Most of the pack constantly scolded his sister for this, as it caused them to be uneasy. But they gradually relented as they saw it was the only way she could effectively learn to cope on her own in the forest, and that she had no intention of using any of it against them.

Whatever this dagger was or used to be, it was now a tool about to aid in a wild hunt. The girl held the tool firmly in her mouth as she circled the rabbit, staying downwind so the creature wasn't alerted to her scent. As she circled, the wolf didn't breathe a sound. His sister needed absolute focus. She set her hand down ever-so-lightly and became slightly closer to the ground, bunching her muscles to spring. Her golden-brown eyes reflecting the white snow.

The girl took the dagger into her hand and drew it back, and with a flick of her wrist, she threw it at the rabbit's hind foot. Now pinned, the rabbit screamed and panicked for not being able to go anywhere. The black wolf watched as his sister leapt at the creature and cleanly snap its neck with a blow from her hand.

_First successful catch in over a week._ So they would not exactly starve tonight, but there was always the next day to think about, assuming today did not unexpectedly end.

Scooping handfuls of snow and earth over the rabbit so they could come back for it later, the girl and wolf were about to continue on. But then they heard their brother making a fuss.

"Otouto! Imouto!" he barked.

"Keep your fur on, Ani! You will frighten off all the prey." The black wolf flattened his ears. In a way, he lied. There was not any more prey to speak of for miles. He could tell from the lack of scents on the air. Only the rabbit had come to this area of the forest today. Otouto huffed. That aside, what could his brother possibly be bothering them for?

The white wolf groaned in annoyance and jerked his head toward the den. "Do not start with me. The human is awake."

_Ah, yes. The human._ Otouto had nearly forgotten about the peculiar being his sister insisted on rescuing. What possessed her to do such a thing?

Otouto looked up to his sister who wore a confused, worried expression and glanced back and forth to the two of them. While she learned, read, as well as spoke in signs and signals, she could not understand the direct wolven language. Whatever was said between the two wolves was indefinite to her.

To make her understand, the black wolf nudged his sister forward and started after his brother. The girl soon caught on and followed them, running nearly as fast as the wolves, back to the den.

Their home was located on a cliff where a man-made path was destroyed by a rockslide years ago. The mouth of the den was hidden by tall patches of grass that grew all along the cliff-face, making its location unnoticeable from all but the closest distances.

The den had smelt like drying blood for days, and it still did as they approached it. That and it smelled of human, sickening Otouto to no end. If his brother felt the same, Ani did not show it. Sure he was the oldest, but why did he insist on just going along with whatever their sister did? The black wolf looked back for her. She was lagging behind on the climb. Scaling rocks was never her strong point. They waited until she was within tree-length before trotting into the den.

Fresh scents of blood caught his nose, as he eyed the ailing human. He was hunched forward and grabbing at his wounds. _Not very bright, is he?_ If the human continued to struggle so much, the injuries would re-open to extents far worse than they were now. The wolf noticed the fear appearing on the being's features as they glared at each other. _You had better fear me_, he thought.

His sister came in the den and pressed between the two wolves to get ahead of them. Her expression became mixed of many things. Shock. Disbelief. Worry. Relief. That too? Why did she have _that_ emotion now? Otouto thought she hated humans just as much, if not more, than he and Ani did. Was he wrong? _Not possible_, the black wolf concluded as the girl hurried toward the odd being. He closed his eyes for a moment to shake his head. _There is no way_.

The black wolf felt his brother tense beside him as the human shouted. He opened his eyes in time to see the being's good arm swing at his sister and causing her to fall backwards in a startled gasp.

Something in the black wolf snapped. His fur spiked and he bared his teeth in a snarl, and he charged before Ani could stop and reason with him. The human attacked his sister! He was going to pay!

Otouto's eyes locked with the human's for a brief moment as his jaws stretched for a killing blow. He leapt from halfway across the cave and aimed for the human's head. A blur flashed across hiss vision as his sister moved between him and the human, mere inches before he met his target. She slammed her eyes closed and cringed, bracing for the sharp pain his attack would cause.

Instantly the wolf dropped out of the air and dug his paws against the rock. But he couldn't quite stop his jaws from closing around the arm she had raised to protect her face. His back teeth closed around her, pressing deep into her arm and causing it to bleed. Then his canines met the top and bottom edges of her head. Finally...his body froze in place.

Silence gripped the whole of the den.

The wolf was dumbstruck and his blood ran cold._ I...Did I just...? No!..._ Never, not even in his dreams, did he think he would ever harm his own sister. Never in a million seasons.

"Imouto!" Ani's fear scent mixed with the others that now lingered around them. "Otouto, let go of her!"

He could not. Feeling her head and arm in his jaws, and because she had not made a sound nor moved, the black wolf simply could not bring himself to release. Knowing of the blood dripping over his tongue and smearing into the black fur around his muzzle, he was too afraid of what he would see. What if he killed her?


	8. Patching Up

**This is kind of a long chapter, but please bear with me! 3 **

**Thank you, my lovely readers! :D**

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><p>What seemed like hours went by...<p>

Then a small pressure met his top fangs and Otouto instantly let go and backed away immediately, staring wide-eyed. The girl slowly lowered her reddened arm. Her blood specked her face and hair, and her expression was laced with pain. But...alive. There was no blood welling from where his canines were. So he hadn't punctured her skull after all. He had slowed his momentum scarcely enough.

Just barely.

His sister looked blankly at him with glazed, gray eyes. The color that indicated the pain she was in. But her features were flat. She had risked his taking her life. She was fully prepared for her own brother to kill her in place of the human. _Why?_ "Imouto..." Otouto knew she could not fully understand him, so he lowered his ears and whimpered. He felt himself shaking. _...please...forgive me..._

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><p>The girl's arm felt numb and it hurt to move. When she saw the look of fear in her brother's eyes and he whimpered, she forced herself out of the daze of pain and smiled. <em>I'm alright<em>, she thought. _No worries._ It was her own form of forgiveness since she did not know any others.

She noticed the questioning in his gaze. _Why protect him?_ There again, was no answer. For some reason, the girl just felt like she had to. Perhaps it was due to how long the human had been in their den; at least a week if not longer. In a way, she had grown accustomed to his being here, bit by bit helping him through his ordeal.

Promptly shaking her head, she removed the thought from her mind. _He's just an annoying pest, that's all! I don't care!_

Without another thought, the girl ignored the pain lancing through her arm and forced herself to turn and face the human. Even in his current position she was shorter than him by two heads. Probably more when standing, she thought irritated. In the snowy light coming from outside, the girl could clearly see the grooves on his face. Since the past several days had been so dark with the overcast, she thought it was scars she was seeing. But they were gills. _Crazy-weird..._ The girl tilted her head in curiosity when she saw gills on his shoulders too, like matching pairs. He really was a lot like a shark.

She was somewhat surprised to see the astonishment in his strange golden eyes. She knew what he was thinking and it was the same question her brother had. Did everyone expect an answer from her that she didn't have? Frustrated with herself, she snapped her fingers as a distraction and to gain his attention like a human would with a common dog. She began to break the habit of using her right arm, as it had been mangled by forcing her brother to unintentionally bite her, and used her left.

The shark man blinked around the third time she snapped her fingers. When his eyes were finally focused on hers she felt her nerves jump and a chill run up her spine. Almost afraid. He was incapacitated and obviously hurting like hell, but his aura had started to return. The same, destructive signature which took her to his location during the attack. That, mixed with the intensity of his eyes, made him far more intimidating than before.

But from her experience with the wolf pack, she knew showing fear was dangerous to do toward anyone or thing. Very similar to submission and admitting defeat. _I'm not going to give in to a stupid human._ She snapped her fingers once more, pointed to him, and then to the ground. _Lie down, jerk-face_. She held a bit of a grudge against him for swinging at her, though it was understandable why he did. Unfortunately she was forced to spare him the verbal insults. Lucky punk.

He gave her a toothy grin. Again she was taken aback by how sharp his teeth looked, like a shark's. Like daggers, she was sure. "What makes you think I'm gonna do that?"

The girl frowned. She pointed to her bloodied arm then pointed back to him. Specifically his injuries.

"Is that a threat, brat?"

She glowered and shook her head violently. _No, you moron!_ Apparently he thought she meant she was going to beat him up if he didn't do what she said. Repeating her previous actions, the girl took her index finger and pressed it into one of her puncture wounds. Gritting her teeth as blood soaked it and two other fingers, she marked her shirt in the pattern of his own injuries. She stretched the hem of the clothing to flatten the marks so he could see how the blood spread, then pointed to him again._ If you don't lie down and quit squirming like a worm you'll break a stitch and end up killing yourself, idiot!_

The shark man narrowed his eyes trying to comprehend. He sighed. "Tch. Fine," he growled. The girl helped him uncurl and carefully lowered him back to the ground. She straightened his broken arm at his side as gently as she could without making it worse. He winced, but otherwise didn't complain.

Once he was settled, she turned slightly to look at her brothers. The black wolf had his back to her and ears flat as he huddled in a ball of misery on the ground. His white-tipped tail didn't twitch like it usually did around outsiders. That worried her. Maybe she could "talk" to him later, but right now they needed to leave so they could all calm themselves. Her brother with white fur, having not once taken his eyes off her, saw her point behind them. Signal and understanding apparent, he nudged the black wolf to his paws and led him out of the den.

Being left alone with the giant human became unnerving. Her brothers were her protection. Despite the state he was in, the shark man was a threat of sorts. She scoffed to herself. _Why I saved his sorry butt twice, let alone once, is beyond me. I should have left him for the mountain cats._

"Who are you?" the human said. "You have a name right?"

The question caught the girl off guard. She clenched her fist and stared at the shark man. No one had asked her that before. She had always been "demon of the forest", "wolf girl", among other things to hunters. Or, when she was still with her human parents, she was more commonly called or known as "freak" because of how her eyes changed color and another thing people refused to talk about around her so she didn't know what it was. There were other cruel things they called her and made jokes about, but she was so young back then she childishly tried to forget and did for the most part.

What was her real name? She knew it was there, somewhere in the back of her mind, but it had been so many years since she answered to it that it became like a puzzle. There, but the image could hardly be seen because so many pieces had gone missing. Maybe if she studied the puzzle for a while she could recall her name. All she remembered was it had something to do with her human parents. But right now... She shook her head at the human and shrugged her shoulders.

"Heh. So you don't know your own name?" He forced a deep-voiced laugh that caused him to grimace. "...that's pathetic!"

The girl shot him an annoyed glare and stuck her tongue out at him. _Jerk! What makes you so smart?!_ So she couldn't remember her name right away. What did that have to do with anything?

He laughed again, but this time he really pushed himself too far. The girl heard a snap followed by his loud growl of pain. She quickly composed herself again, taking a deep breath despite her twitching nerves.

She subconsciously placed her right hand over the shark man's left side and lightly traced his rib cage with her palm, leaving a thin trail of blood. Realizing, she switched hands and continued. It sounded like one of his broken ribs had shifted. If it wasn't dealt with immediately it could puncture something and cause internal damage.

_I can't treat something like that, can I?_ she thought as she found the rib. It was the fifth from the bottom. That's near a lung I think... She stood up and went to the cubbies naturally carved out of the lower section of the wall. Reaching her hand into the middle one, she felt around until she touched soft binding.

The girl pulled out the book to make sure it was the right one then began flipping through the pages. _There has to be something here that can help- what's this?_ It was a picture of human anatomy and something about jutsu, chakra, and other things she scarcely understood from her days with humans. Even so, when she was positive the shark man was holding himself still to not make matters worse, she studied every word on the next few pages for several minutes. The information was specifically for healing bones such as breaks, minor fractures, and the like. What luck...sort of. She never practiced jutsu of any kind before. There was no need as long as she was only with the wolves and knew herbs and things for the basics. But this was a case requiring a more complex type of healing and on a human no less. Could she really pull this off? _It's worth a shot I suppose._

She suddenly wanted to rip the book in half. To take her anger out on something. Every fiber of her hatred nagged at her, wanting to forget it and let the human suffer. Why doesn't she do just that? Sometimes her compassionate side really bugged her.

Letting the anger run rampant wouldn't be a good idea right now. She found a roll of bandages and wrapped her injured arm in such a rough manner the constant flashes of pain burnt the unwanted emotion away. That now aside, the girl went back to her place on her knees beside the human, the book open to the pages with the specific instructions required. For a second she thought it odd this wouldn't be in a scroll instead. Maybe the book was from an old-fashioned era or something?

"What do...you have that for?" The shark man struggled to ask.

The girl rolled her eyes and held the book so he could see the pages. _That answer your question?_ Then she set it down and formed the hand signs shown in the images, concentrating energy into her hands. For a split moment, they glowed a soft green. Not sufficient enough. She tried again. This time the glowing stayed for eight seconds. The girl snorted in irritation.

Despite his grimacing, the giant eyed her suspiciously. "Don't tell me you haven't..." His coughing interrupted him. "...used a jutsu before..." A statement. Not a question. And there was a nervous edge to his voice and features.

_Okay, I won't_, she thought as she formed the hand signs a third time. Again, not a complete success. _Curses!_ How many times would she have to fail before she got it right?!

"That's not promising..." he gave another sharp-toothed grin. She could tell his sarcasm was half-hearted.

The girl could swear he was taunting her. _Crybaby_. Fourth time must be the charm because the soft glow stayed. _Finally!_ she thought with satisfaction.

Glancing at the book again, she placed her hands on the human's bare torso and concentrated. Each injury became known to the girl as her chakra channeled through him to find and heal the worst broken bones.

She felt snapping beneath her palms as the bones realigned and she tensed hearing the giant holler through his gritted his teeth. _Hurt me, I'll hurt you back_, she thought so to hide from her own fear. It may just have been her imagination, but he looked like he was about to tear her apart for the added pain. Helpful or not, mending his bones was hurting him. What good was a technique that still caused pain? _Seems pretty useless if you ask me,_ she thought.

His sigh of relief let her calm the chills lingering under her skin. She moved on to his broken arm. He clenched his teeth, but he didn't make a sound this time save for his labored breathing.

It had to have been little more than an hour and twenty minutes when she was through healing what she could. But now she felt exhausted, like she had run a hundred miles. The girl couldn't shake the blurriness from her eyes. Looking at her hands, her eyes narrowed. _What is this?_ Every muscle seemed to have a numbing ache. She didn't like this feeling. It made her feel vulnerable somehow.

Placing both hands on the floor, she made herself stand and gain balance. Then she stepped around the shark man to get to a pile of things she either knew or assumed to be his from the clearing. An assortment of weapons, a massive sword wrapped in bandages of some kind, sandals, a headband with insignia on it, the torn shirts that were no longer covered in blood because she couldn't stand the smell and cleaned them, the bag a mountain lion had chewed good-sized holes into..._there it is._

The cloak she had found, and knew was his due to his scent, was closest to the wall behind everything else. She had put it there to keep away the temptation of picking it up again. Usually her twinge of laziness would keep her from doing so now, but it was getting cold in the den and the giant most likely couldn't stand cold weather like her. No one, not even humans, deserved to freeze to death. Even if they nearly caused her to lose an arm.

_Aw heck._ She reached over the pile and grabbed the cloak in a fist. She half hoped it would burst into flames, but of course it didn't. _Stupid, uncooperative reality._

The giant's eyes were closed, but he tiredly opened them as she set the cloak over him. There was that surprised look again. He didn't say anything, but the girl could make an educated guess at his thoughts. Another question, wondering what this was all about. She had an answer this time, but why should she try to explain herself to a human?

_Whatever_. She blinked and looked away, starting toward the mouth of the den. It was about time she got back to her hunt. Her right arm might be in bad shape, but it was no excuse to let her brothers starve. She should at least try.

"Hey, hold on a sec."

The girl stopped and turned her head back to the human. _What now?_ Every time he spoke it agitated her.

He sat up and the cloak slid into his lap. "My name is Kisame by the way. I have to admit, you're pretty skilled for a brat."

_How did he recover so fast?_ Narrowing her eyes, the girl wasn't sure whether to take this as an insult or not. Her first time performing a jutsu and he said she was skilled. But 'brat'? She was no brat! Now she wished for a voice, just so she could put the irony of his name to use._ I don't have time for this..._ Sighing, she waved a hand at him as she walked out of the den.

_The nerve of that shark! Calling me a brat three times within an hour! I should have just finished what the mountain cats started, if he's this much of an ungrateful-!_ Her anger restored and she couldn't stop herself from smashing the nearest thing; a boulder twice her size. This whole situation reminded her too much of the humans she once called 'mom' and 'dad'.

Pressing a hand against her aching head, she wished she could just forget about those accursed memories. _Why? Why can't they just go away?_


	9. Horror in a Name

**It's been forever since I updated this story here, huh? I have a bunch more chapters on wattpad though.**

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><p>Like she had promised herself she would, the girl had pieced the puzzle of her name together. The first day, while balancing a bunch of other things that needed to be done, she remembered it had something to do with the ideals of her human parents. Also that what it truly meant came to full light the day she ran away. She knew it was what they did that caused her to hate humans altogether, and they did it because of their morals. But what were they exactly? That was the key to her name, remembering those ideals.<p>

The girl had only remembered a few letters of her last name: i, n, and z. What name had those letters in it? She went through several combinations of other consonants and vowels that might fit until one sounded familiar. Nozomi. So the last name didn't sound too bad. Not right now, anyway. Half the puzzle was fit together, now for the first name...what was it? What was the one moral the humans had named her for?

Second day, the morning, and still nothing. She had stayed awake nearly the whole night thinking about it. Needing a break, she went to the abandoned house on the other side of the forest. That should have cleared her head, but it only upped her anxiety levels as she unlatched the door and stepped in. The girl had been here only yesterday after Kisame regained consciousness. But it still had been forever ago that she had been in a house. This place was haunted by the stale scent of humans as well as the lingering aura of the nefarious intentions they once held, like demons searching for the smallest pinprick of weakness. She wanted to turn tail and run as fast as she could.

If only her inane obligation to stay on top of the shark man's well-being would let her. He already said, actually yelled, he wouldn't eat raw meat like she and the wolves did. A lot of complaining on his part, and whatever was in the house was the next best thing. _I hope he jumps off a cliff before I get back,_ she thought. Only a cub should be as annoying and whiney as he is.

In the basement were several crates of food and non-perishable beverages, some of it in travel-packs for long trips. Considering it wasn't long ago this place was vacated, this was an odd find. One would think the humans would take stuff like this with them and not just leave it to rot.

A cold sensation crept over her neck, making her freeze as a lump caught in the girl's throat and sweat formed on her brow. She could have swore she felt what was like fingertips brushing the deep scar that she had worked so hard to forget but was always reminded of...

**-Flashback-**

_ Run! Every instinct she possessed told her to run as her parents chased her with weapons in hand. She knew but didn't understand why they were so angry with her. If she hadn't said something, they would have been put to death! They were innocent, they didn't deserve to die! And she loved them so much...did her mother and father really expect her to just sit idly by and watch a false execution?_

_ The girl faltered and she tripped as a kunai sliced her cheek and another slashed through her shoulder. Pain choked her as she cried out in agony. No, no, no, no, no! They were catching up to her! Hot tears rolled down the nine-year-old's face as she ran a few more yards before her father caught her and pinned her to a tree with his forearm, with her mother close behind. The girl stared wide, blurry-eyed at them. Her eyes closed tightly as she cried even louder. "Mommy! Daddy!" She choked through the tears. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Beneath the eyelids, her eyes were black as the darkest night with fear._

_ "You are not our daughter anymore!" the mother hissed._

_ "Don't call us that you little wretch!" growled the father as he brought a kunai to the girl's throat. She cried louder, apologizing profusely with tears rolling down her cheeks. An offense unforgivable in their raging eyes. Not a second wasted, the girl felt the knife cutting through her skin and a blood curdling scream carried through the trees._

_ She had saved their lives by speaking the truth. Her repayment...death._

**-End Flashback-**

Forcing herself out of the memory that made her teeth clatter, the girl found herself shaking in fear. That demon had forced her to see a vivid memory of herself and she could hear the disembodied cackle seeping through the silence, feeding off of her sheer terror. Her sorrow. Her hatred. The atmosphere grew so tight now she could hardly breathe and the demonic aura grew stronger and more suffocating. She grit her teeth, feeling the urge to scream. _No! Get away from me!_

Grabbing the travel-packs and slinging them over her shoulders she made a bee line for the door. She didn't even bother opening it and crashed right through the weak rotting wood. _Get away!_ she screamed in her head. Her heart raced with anxiety. She didn't stop running until she found herself back at the cliff panting heavily. Pieces of wood stuck out of her legs and arms, but she hardly felt them or the blood on her skin.

That was her name. The moral her parents shared to such a point they would kill their own daughter to uphold. Ironic how she used to love them and now she hated them so much it made her sick and raging. She was forever silenced by them. Forever the quiet child. That was their plan all along.


	10. An Answer or Two

**Note: Everything between the *s are sign language.**

**Also, this chapter and the last one are rearranged in a way they make more sense (so you might be reading the last part a second time if you haven't read it in the last chapter already (before I updated it)). They're kinda screwed up in the main document and on the other site ^^; And I'll be looking for any edits I made and add 'em as I find 'em :)**

**By the way, the reference I used for my OC's name was the merschat site under the 'Baby Name Meanings' section. Just so there's no confusion there.**

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><p>The next couple of days weren't all that interesting to Kisame's disappointment. The girl was in and out of the cave every several hours, coming back with books and scrolls she didn't care to let Kisame see and travel-packs with food in them that she apparently decided to bring for him. He thanked her, but she seemed like she was only half listening.<p>

No matter what he said or asked her she would never give a straightforward answer if at all. If he talked long enough she would glare at him and walk away. It was almost funny but unusual at the same time because it was like she was avoiding something. Kisame wondered what it could be, but he tried to steer clear of asking her things that would result in him being ignored even more.

If it wasn't the never-ending silent treatment, she was fumbling with various jutsu that Kisame could only guess she was reading about in the scrolls. He constantly poked fun at her inability to perform them correctly and she'd respond by sticking her tongue out at him. He'd laugh and she would growl until the wolves led her out into the snow to calm her down. The black wolf, mainly, snarled each time it saw him. Kisame wasn't eager to provoke it since it nearly took his head off. At least the white one didn't mind him too much.

Kisame had the feeling that none of them cared for his presence. He would have left before now, but whenever the girl found him standing up she'd give him a death glare and force him to sit if not lie down again. And he couldn't lose his temper without repercussions. She either didn't react or sent it right back to him. One of the many times he debated on whether or not he should just rid of her with Samehada and be done with it. Then again not many people, let alone women, dared to hold their own against someone of his caliber who could make their heads roll. She attempted to fix his shirts a dozen times, and failed horribly, already too. God knows why. And it left him without a shirt to wear. Of course, this wasn't too big a deal since he had his cloak keeping the chill off his shoulders.

_That runt's nothing but confusing, _Kisame thought. _It's obvious she detests me, so why keep me around or give a damn whether I'm completely recovered or not? _He watched the girl for a few minutes. She had been sitting by the mouth of the cave staring outside for an hour and a half and she hadn't moved a muscle. Probably waiting for the two wolves to come back to the cave. Light wind blew snow into her long brown hair that was tied into two half-ponytails. It was like she didn't even notice the cold. Even stranger is she had come back today covered in splinters and chunks of wood in her arms and legs, and Kisame wondered how she wasn't feeling the cold under the bandaging. He asked what the hell happened but he didn't think she even heard him, as panicked as she was.

"You know, runt," he said leaning against the wall. "You'll turn to ice before long if you just sit there."

She hardly glanced at him.

Kisame frowned. "Hmph. You're like my partner. He almost never speaks. It gets on my nerves."

The girl growled quietly. He knew what that meant, but it was something at least. _'And you are getting on mine.'_

"Tch. Cool your jets, I'm just trying to make conversation. No need to get snippy."

Sighing, the girl picked up a book setting next to her and showed him the cover. 'Sign Language Dictionary'.

"What, you're deaf?" Instant. Stupid. Question.

She rolled her eyes and threw the book at him. Kisame caught it midair. Snarling in annoyance, the girl folded her arms and went back to staring outside.

"Geez. Touchy brat," he mumbled. Kisame fingered through the pages, glancing at the different hand signs, what each meant, and how to put the terms in full sentences and phrases. If she wasn't hearing impaired, what would she have this for? He heard the girl snap her fingers and he looked up from the current page. She signed and then pointed at the book. _Okay…she wants me to find that, _he guessed.

Kisame looked through the book a few minutes before finding the sign. 'Study.' _Excuse me? _What sense was this supposed to make? _Oh, I think I get it,_ he thought after a moment. She was planning on communicating with him through sign language and wanted him to study the book so he could understand what she was saying. So the girl practically hated his guts, but not actually talking to him save for this was rather overboard wasn't it? And the book was over five hundred pages thick. How she read it without Kisame noticing was beyond him. Oh well. "Alright then."

His mind being like a steel trap, it took only two hours and forty-five minutes to memorize every page. By then the wolves had come back with prey in their jaws and had eaten most of it because the girl had refused to eat and gave most of her share to them. She wouldn't eat anything from the travel-packs either. That was established yesterday when Kisame offered one of the many extras to her and she turned her nose up at it. _Idiot's going to starve to death if she keeps this up,_ Kisame thought matter-of-factly. It was easy to see how thin she was from lack of nutrition. Kisame would bet anything she'd be dead before winter was out. Sad really.

Wait… It was sad? Since when did he feel sad about anything? He thought he eradicated that emotion after people started calling him a monster. They had no compassion for him, so he returned the favor. And he already saw glimmers of the same reaction in the girl as others had, so why did he see her situation differently than that of others? Kisame shook his head. _I've been in this cave too damn long. It's beginning to fry my brain._

Night fell quickly like the snow storm. Damn, he was bored out of his skull. It was nerve-rackingly silent and it got to him in a matter of minutes. _Even Itachi isn't this freaking quiet_. Provided he was still alive that is. Now _there_ was something that bothered him; if the Uchiha was alive, he no doubt made it back to the base assuming he was dead and then told Leader and everyone else. Hopefully he could get out of this cave soon and redeem his partner's clear-as-mud assumptions.

Desperately wanting something to do, he stood and walked over to where the girl and wolves were on the opposite side of the cave. She was curled between them, using the black wolf like a pillow and the white wolf served as a barrier from the winter breeze.

Kisame folded his arms. The girl was half asleep already, he couldn't sleep at all. In another minute she'd be perfectly comfortable in her dreams, and he would still be bored insane. Talk about unfair. Should he keep her up all night just for the sake of talking?

He grinned. _Absolutely! _Kisame picked up one of the heaviest books scattered around the group, then dropped it on the girl's head.

A chain reaction. The girl awoke first, her legs kicking out as a reflex and catching the white wolf in the hip. Then it's startled yipping woke up the black wolf and they all went nuts stumbling over each other wondering what happened. Kisame thought his ribs were going to break again, he was laughing so hard. Hearing him, they stopped confused. All at once, their eyes narrowed and turned their heads to glare at him, the wolves adding irritated growls. He only laughed harder. "That's too great! You're such a bunch of idiots!"

The girl stomped toward him and punched him.

"Come on, that was funny and you know it!" Kisame chuckled and rubbed his now sore arm. "Hm?" Was that a hint of amusement in her eyes? And in the dark he could see the slightest smile on her face. That was weird. He was expecting her to be seething mad, not like this. Talk about annoying. Kisame shook his head and got his mind on track. "I have a few questions and I expect straight answers."

After a moment, she nodded. Motioning him to follow, the girl walked into a side tunnel at the back of the cave. Kisame noticed it before, but didn't care enough to investigate. _I guess now's a good as time as any to see what's back here, _he thought. His cloak brushed over the close jagged walls, snagging on the rock. At one point a stalagmite jutting out of the floor caused him to trip into the wall. The cloak got caught on another spike and nearly slid off his arm. When Kisame turned to readjust it, the gills on his shoulder scraped painfully against the rough walls making every nerve down to the tips of his fingers sting. "HOT DAMN!" he shouted. He heard the girl snickering, absolutely tickled pink by his clumsiness. "Shut up!"

Eventually, the floor began to slant as they continued then leveled out at the bottom. Suddenly the girl stopped and Kisame almost tripped over her small figure. "Hey! Watch it!"

"Shh!"

_Brat! _Kisame's temper spiked again. But before he could react he heard her feeling around for something and then knock it over when she came into contact with it. He laughed. "Smooth move."

She growled as the cavern became illuminated with firelight. It was a perfect dome, large enough for at least three people. What looked like a small pond bubbled up from an underground spring in the center, the water's edge about two meters from the wall. "Nice place. What are we here for?"

The girl sat near the pond with her back against stone and a lantern set in front of her. She began using the sign language they had both studied. And Kisame understood it plain as day. *I did not want to keep my brothers awake. They need rest.*

"Ah." He sat next to the girl, facing her. "You consider those wolves your family then."

She nodded.

Kisame smirked. "Even though that black one bit the tar out of you?"

The girl narrowed her eyes. *And who's fault was that?*

_Can't argue with her there, I suppose. _After all, he was the one who swung at her and tipped off the wolf. If he hadn't done that, she wouldn't have been bitten. "Anyway, down to business. Why do you live out here instead of a village? You don't seem like the wild type."

Anger glinted in her eyes, but was replaced with tiredness as she yawned. *I ran away when I was nine years old. I know enough to live like a human, but I do not want to most of the time.* She slumped forward a moment before sitting straight again. Poor thing was practically falling asleep on her heels.

"Why did you run away?"

She blinked and growled. *I. Hate. Humans.*

Kisame flinched inside. From how she clenched her jaw he guessed there was more to it than that, but he decided not to press the issue. All the same, somehow, it stung to see her say that. "That includes me," he stated.

The girl tilted her head, her expression flat as if she couldn't quite process what he said. She paused for a moment before signing, *Maybe.*

"What do you mean "maybe"?" That didn't make him feel better.

She sniffed. *You are alive, are you not?* She remained still for a while, thinking it over. *I remembered my name.* She paused. *If you want to know.*

Kisame groaned at her changing the subject. That wasn't a straight answer. Frankly, now that it was on his mind, he wanted to know why she saved him even though she hated humans so much. Damn. And once she set her mind to something there was no getting her to come off it. Just like the sign language shpeel and her refusal to actually talk to him. He sighed. "Alright, fine. What is it?"

The girl picked up a shard of rock between her fingers and scratched thin lines into the floor. So she also knew how to write, more or less. But her hand was shaking, like it was painful for her. When the characters were complete she crushed the shard in her fist as if she was trying to kill it. She glared at what she wrote for a second then jerked her head away, her face turning red with anger.

What was she so mad about now? Kisame looked at the scars etched in the floor. "Kiyoshi Nozomi."

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><p>Now that she sat here in the pond cave, her name written in front of her and puzzle completed, she felt like her anger was going to explode. Her insides shook in resentment and rage as she forced the tears away. She wasn't going to cry in front of Kisame. The wolves taught her crying showed nothing but weakness in human eyes.<p>

She cringed as he said her name, fighting back the urge to beat him within an inch of his life. It would be so easy in his condition and unexpecting as he would be. But she remained still. Why?! "Kiyoshi Nozomi, huh?"

Kiyoshi nodded, the movement constrained.

"Hmph." His growl reverberated through the floor and walls. "Are you freaking kidding me? What kind of stupid-as-hell name is that? I've met _dogs_ with better names!"

Kiyoshi paused. Her rage dropped into the pit of her stomach and iced over. Did she hear that right? Probably not as much as she did, but he seriously detested her name. She thought he was going to make some joke about how it so literally fit her. When she was little, the humans always jumped at the chance to make fun of her name because it was so gosh darn lame. Why wasn't Kisame? Kiyoshi knew he was deliberately insulting her, but she couldn't see that as a reason to be mad. It made her far too happy to hear him say what he did.

"Hey, you alright, runt?" Kisame had leaned forward to catch Kiyoshi's eyes. His blue skin was almost purple in the dimming lantern light. "You look sick all of a sudden."

She heard him say something else, but she didn't hear him as a new exhaustion finally caught up to her.


	11. Mysteries

"Hellooo? Did you hear me?" Kisame wondered why Kiyoshi wasn't answering him with so much as a glance. Her head fell forward and he realized she was finally asleep. He took it as her way of ignoring him. Not cool. "Wake up! We're not done talking yet!" He shook her and got no response. She was out cold. That's when he noticed tears rolling down her cheeks and he jerked away thinking he had hurt her somehow. "The hell?!" After a second he realized he hadn't and sighed. _What's that about? _Who cried in their sleep? It was just weird. "Hey, kid! Wake up already!" Still nothing. "Damn. There's no waking you up, is there?" Kisame sighed. How was he supposed to get answers now? Well, there was always tomorrow. But that brought up a whole different subject.

How the heck was he supposed to get out of this cavern? He certainly couldn't leave without the girl. If the wolves saw him and not her he'd be worse than dead. And there was no room in the passageway for Kisame to try and carry her, there was barely enough room for him alone. "Dammit, runt," he groaned. "Thanks to you I'm stuck here."

The lantern was out. All Kisame could hear was the shifting water and Kiyoshi's soft breathing as he rested next to her. The dull stinging of his injuries kept him wide awake so he gave up sleeping. Instead he leaned back against the cave wall next to Kiyoshi and stared at the pitch black ceiling. _I have to get out of here soon,_ he thought. _If I don't, when I get back, Leader will have my head on a spear._ There was also the matter of _how_ to get back. With his body still healing from the run-in with the mountain lions, he really wasn't in shape to be avoiding anbu. Or fighting them, by that standard. One at a time maybe, but the elite-class ninja always fought in groups of two or better.

Kisame groaned and used a hand to wipe the sweat off his face. It was so blasted hot in here from the hot spring pond it made him miss the cold of the main cave. _I'm a dead man walking._

His mind drifted to a different subject when he heard the faint rain-like clattering from Samehada. That was another thing he wanted to ask. How in hell did Kiyoshi get his sword here? Anyone besides him who so much as touched it got a face full of lacerations and had their chakra leached out. Samehada also weighed half a ton, give or take. For someone to pick it up would take more than their fair share of stamina, and again there was the issue of their energy being sapped in more ways than one. The shark skin sword was for his use alone. So how in god's name did the girl manage it?!

The idea someone other than him handled Samehada almost instantly enraged him. At the same time he heard the sword rattling even louder, seemingly begging for his presence in the main cave. It was a wonder it wasn't setting the wolves off with all its chatter. _Believe me, I'd come if I could,_ he thought in irritation. _But if I set foot out of here without the runt I'm beyond screwed._

* * *

><p>Ani flattened his ears, trying with no avail to block out the odd rain-like sound coming from the human's weapon. It made him uneasy. The undead-like aura coming from it caused the wolf's fur to spike, and his skin crawl.<p>

His littermate's growl was laced with anxiety and his muscles tense. Otouto was taking position to leap at the weapon as one would attack a rival predator.

"Don't," the white wolf warned. "Something about that thing is unworldly. We have no idea what it is capable of."

Otouto had his teeth bared and the white tip of his twitching tail brushed the den floor as he crept forward. Paw by paw he ignored Ani's warning. "Can you not hear, brother?" he growled quietly. "It is threatening us!"

"Excuse me?" Ani had a sudden difficulty processing his brother's _apparent_ madness. "Surely mother did not birth a fool…"

"I am no fool! Listen!" Otouto lowered to the floor, his only movement now was his ears flicking irritably at the strange sound. "Listen…carefully…"

Ani scoffed, considering to dismiss the black wolf. Finally he rolled his eyes and strained his ears toward the weapon to listen. At first, all he heard was rain-on-water. Then, far beneath the shower of sound, there was a voice of sorts. But it was like a ghostly whisper in the dead of night. He would have thought it impossible before now, but the weapon indeed seemed to be alive. And it was angry.

What it said was hair-raisingly unnerving. **_"_****_Masters come…kill intruders….."_**

The white wolf scrambled to his paws and charged to where Otouto was and screeched to a halt with his teeth bared. "_You_ are the intruder!" he snarled.

"This is _our_ home!" Otouto barked.

**_"_****_Closer to kill….."_** the weapon rattled. **_"_****_...destroy all…."_**

The wolves leapt out of the way as a series of spikes shot like lightning from the sword and struck where they were previously standing, scoring the rock. The spikes slowly receded. "Do you see?" Otouto growled. "It threatens us!"

"Yes…" Ani was curious as something occurred to him. Was it possible to converse further with this being? He took small pawsteps toward the weapon. The sound of rain showers grew, and Ani noticed what seemed like long sharp scales quivering beneath the torn bandages. Ani narrowed his eyes. "I believe you only have _one_ master."

"What?" The black wolf looked at Ani as the sword continued to rattle.

"It said "masters". Meaning more than one." Ani turned back to the sword. "Who is the other?" he demanded.

A moment passed before it answered. _**"…**__**creature calls human blood…"**_

Otouto pressed his ears back. "Brother…what does that mean? 'Creature calls human blood'?"

Ani sat and considered the words for a long time, going over each word and possible meanings carefully. He came up with nothing. "Curses…I have not the foggiest…."

The weapon's chatter changed pitch and tempo, as if to laugh. **_"…_****_Creature foolish!"_** it taunted.

"Stow your banter!" Otouto snorted. "We are done here." As the rattling continued, the black wolf urged Ani to the farther side of the den where the weapon's spikes couldn't reach.

_Wait…._ "Could it be…?" Ani thought aloud settling to the ground.

"What is it, brother?"

He shook his head. "Nothing."


	12. Crumbling World

Kiyoshi trudged through the snow as she went looking for her brothers. She had already guessed what happened. It was their turn to hunt and they always began before sunrise. When they left, Kisame took the opportunity to gather his things and leave as well. And Kiyoshi slept through it due to her exhaustion from lack of rest. She could feel the skin-crawling signature of the shark man's aura still, but it was quite some miles away and fading into the distance with every passing minute.

The growing feeling of loss slightly annoyed her. Normally, she would be glad Kisame was finally out of her hair. He was loud, snarky, unbearably irritating and complained too much, but still... Now that he was gone, she could hear the falling snow. There was no wind, no subtle scurrying of the smaller animals beneath the brush, no flutter of winter birds' wings, no anything. Only the sound of snow as it touched the ground. The forest was never this quiet even before the human showed up. The girl had grown so accustomed to having him around the past few days it was like his leaving changed everything.

Sighing, she noticed she was walking aimlessly and turned back. There wasn't a point in searching for the wolves while they were hunting. They always returned to the den soon enough, so what was she walking around out in the cold for? She sighed again. The answer was more or less obvious. She was looking for Kisame. She wanted him back, but didn't fully understand why. _He'll never come back though, _she thought. _A place like this isn't worth returning to once it's left behind._

By the time Kiyoshi was at the mouth of the den, she was tired of wallowing in self pity. After all, it wouldn't change anything. She stepped inside the cave and flexed her limbs to keep the joints from locking due to the sudden rise of temperature. Compared to outside, the cave was considerably warmer. The steam coming from the spring deeper inside was sure of that.

Once her joints and muscles were adjusted to the warmth, she moved to the back of the cave and sat in a shallow corner furthest away from the chilling draft. She pulled a blanket into her lap and instantly wondered why. The cold didn't quite reach her here so it didn't make sense. Kiyoshi noticed a familiar scent and then it hit her as she snarled at her subconscious. The shark man's scent was all over this blanket from when he had used it to keep himself warm. Surely she didn't miss him _that_ much? But as she sat there, running her hand over the soft fabric, she felt the numbness of loss grow more.

* * *

><p>It was almost sundown, and the wolves still hadn't returned. <em>What's taking so long?<em> Kiyoshi had her knees pulled up to her chest and her face buried in the blanket, letting the ocean-like scent surround her. She looked outside and saw it was getting dark. Her brothers had never been gone this long before. Where were they? A rock falling from the top of the den entrance caught her attention and she stood to investigate as it clacked over the ground. When she reached the wall with the storage holes carved into them she stopped, hesitating to go further out. She had hoped the wolves had returned, but it occurred to her it _couldn't _have been them. They never came from the top of the cliff.

Pulling the blanket over her shoulders, Kiyoshi reached into a box stored in the wall and pulled out a large butterfly-shaped pin. She used it to fasten the top corners of the blanket together. If she was to go outside now, she would need it to keep from freezing. At night it was a great deal colder in the snow than the daytime and it never crossed Kiyoshi's mind to wander around when the sun set.

The thin layer of snow melted under her feet as she peered out of the den. To her disappointment, her brother's really were nowhere in sight. But she did feel someone else's presence. Another human. They were hiding from her, and if it weren't for the shard of rock falling earlier she wouldn't have known where. Hearing the faint movement above her head, Kiyoshi looked up and saw a masked man in a white hood. He was hiding in the brush and looking right at her, but from his delay in attack it was obvious he didn't realize at first Kiyoshi was looking directly at him as well.

She growled and dodged as the stranger threw a kunai at her head. Missing, he formed a hand sign for a jutsu and Kiyoshi fell back and shielded her eyes as a series of explosions shook the cliff. Ears ringing, she slowly opened her eyes to see the mouth of the cave collapsed and she stared in shock. Chances were the inside was caved in too. Anger flooded her, and she wanted nothing more than to make the human pay.

When he appeared through the smoke to attack her again, Kiyoshi was on her feet and running down the makeshift path. Like she thought, he took the bait and followed her. Another explosion went off in front of her, but she charged through the fire and scattering shards of rock and continued. The opportunity to spring an early trap evident, Kiyoshi pulled the kunai she always kept tied at her hip and charged back into the dust and smoke in time to have the intruder run directly into her blade and he let out a short yelp of pain.

Up close, she saw the mask he wore resembled a cat's face. _I've read about you,_ she thought with a growl. _Anbu black ops, right?_ These people were supposed to be highly educated and skilled. Apparently though, knowing the possibility of an opponent using common sense wasn't part of their education. _I guess you're not as smart as you thought you were,_ Kiyoshi thought as a pained groan escaped the man. The kunai was buried deep in his abdomen and the blood trailed from the fatal wound to Kiyoshi's hands. She growled again and jerked the kunai out of the Anbu's body and let him slump to the ground. A worrying thought crossed her mind. If the human found the den, what happened to her brothers?

She glared at the corpse of the Anbu and glanced around before walking away. If she remembered correctly, these particular ninja never traveled within a given area alone in case something went wrong. Well, she was the something in this battle and she had to disappear before another one of these intruders saw fit to make an attack. There was no doubt in Kiyoshi's mind she could outsmart and defeat them easily. But she didn't want more blood on her hands. Not yet. She needed to know what had become of her family first.

As Kiyoshi left her home and ventured further into the forest, she found traces of a massive struggle leading toward the mountain pass. Prints of both human and wolf were scattered across the area and weapons were thrown about and the snow was dotted with blood. Again, it was from both the humans and her brothers. _At least they're putting up a good fight,_ she thought with a shaky sigh. _Please let them be alright…_

Continuing her tracking, she closed her eyes and focused her hearing as she walked. The snow was no longer falling, as it had stopped long ago. Now there wasn't any sound to be heard. Only the smoky scent of winter was to be found here. One sound far up the mountain caught her ears. The ice forming over the drop-off was shaking. The mountain itself seemed to rumble. Kiyoshi opened her eyes and stared in the direction of the massive border between the forest and a land she had never traveled to. Her breath formed clouds as she pulled the blanket closer around her neck. The rumble sounded again, adding a burst of fire located near the pass. What was going on up there?

The girl broke out in a run, following the bloody trail. She ignored the frozen brush scratching her skin for some time. Eventually the freezing ground caused her feet to ache. So she climbed a nearby tree and started traveling by the branches, keeping her senses open in case someone attempted to ambush her. The only breeze came from her fast pace, and snow only fell when she disturbed groups of leaves that never had a chance to retire to the ground. It was far too quiet for Kiyoshi's taste. There should be some kind of sight or sound besides the fire on the mountain. A bird at least. Even if it didn't sing, she would still be able to hear its very presence swirling in the atmosphere. _But there's nothing…_She glanced at the ground again and came to a dead stop. Her balance suddenly faltered as she stared in horror. Now she knew why the forest was so deathly quiet.

Kiyoshi placed one hand against the tree to steady herself while the other covered her nose and mouth to keep from tasting the scent of rotting iron in the air. Below in the clearing, blood and weapons spread far into the white snow. Two black ops lay dead, one headless and the other with dozens of kunai, senbon, and shuriken lodged in the back and head.

Tears filled in the girl's eyes as she whimpered. But she wasn't mourning for the humans. Lying unmoving near the second body, also covered in weapons and blood...…was the white wolf.


	13. Goodbyes

_"Run, Otouto! I will hold them off!"... "Don't argue, just run!" _The memory of the attack swirled in Ani's aching head. The humans had taken them by surprise. With the cold hindering their sense of smell, the two wolves had no chance of knowing there were intruders in the forest again. Already they were injured and attempting to escape, but the intruders had caught up to them.

Ani crushed one human's arm in his jaws when she attacked Otouto. When the second human turned to attack him, the black wolf grabbed the human by the shoulder and threw him against the trunk of a tree. But he landed feet first against the wood and shot back like a bullet bearing weapons like those Imouto used to hunt. Of course Otouto dodged and retaliated.

Distracted by his littermate's fight, the white wolf didn't notice the female human come at him a second time with a long blade and run it through his shoulder. It only made him angrier as he snarled and flipped around with his jaws spread far apart to show his intention of removing her masked head from her shoulders. With her mangled arm she didn't have time to move before the wolf succeeded, blood spattering across his muzzle and dotting the black band of fur on his forehead. Ani's satisfaction was short lived when he noticed a third human hiding in the shadows, his attention on Otouto who hadn't noticed as he fought with one of the humans. He was forming a strange sign with his hands, which raised a red flag in the white wolf's mind. Just as weapons flew from all directions at his brother, Ani charged and knocked Otouto aside. Time seemed to slow down enough for Ani to snap the intruder's leg in his jaws and hold him in place as hundreds of knives, blades, and needles showered the clearing in a deadly rain of steel.

Incomprehensible pain seared through the wolf's body and he let the now dead human drop to the ground, thankful he was able to make the intruder involuntarily shield his head from instantly fatal wounds. But the damage had been done. Ani's limbs buckled and he sank into the snow. He heard his brother call out to him in terror, but the white wolf didn't dare let Otouto remain frozen with concern."Do not be a fool!"Ani growled through his clenched jaws."_Run!_"The black wolf hesitated, but turned and ran with the third human tailing him.

_That was hours ago,_ Ani remembered. He was numb with the dulling ache of all the weapons protruding from his body. It no longer hurt to breathe so little, so he knew it was only a matter of time. Death came for him once already, but the wolf denied the comfort of the next world even as blood soaked his white fur red. He couldn't die yet. Not with the thought of Imouto, his sister, being alone if Otouto was killed too. It was a prospect he couldn't bear to imagine.

Despite his brother's accusations of not caring enough, Ani was the most obligated to protect their adopted sister. That's why he allowed her to act independently. If she didn't learn how to fend for herself and make her own decisions, simply treated like a cub her whole life, she never would have survived in the wilderness with them. But that was the problem. They were always there for her. If Ani died now he couldn't protect her anymore…

The sound of snow being crushed beneath another mass caused the wolf to re-focus on the real world, but he didn't have the energy to move to see what had made the noise. However, he didn't have to wonder for long. Imouto had moved into his line of vision as she dropped into the snow next to him. Her eyes were dark gray, the color betraying her sadness. She was crying, and it broke Ani's heart.

Imouto whimpered as she wrapped her arms around his head, burying her face into his blood-speckled fur. Ani was rather surprised she was speaking in broken-sounding wolf tongue. He wondered when she learned how, but quickly dismissed the pointless curiosity. She was saying _"I'm sorry…I'm sorry…" _A tired thought of amusement flickered in the white wolf's mind. What was she apologizing for? This wasn't her fault.

Ani whined his reassurance in a low tone. _It is okay…I will stay here with you…_

The girl tightened her grip and trembled as snowflakes began to fall again. She shook her head and whimpered louder, as if she were in pain. What she was saying now caused Ani to pause. _"No…do not suffer…."_ Imouto must have sensed his protest because she continued as she hugged him tighter. _"…do not worry for me…."_

The wolf watched snowflakes floating in the air for a time. How slowly they fell. They were beautiful, but he couldn't feel their touch. His body felt too distant to feel anything but the girl pressing into his fur and not wanting to let go. _But how could I leave her alone?_ Ani listened to Imouto continue to cry. Maybe…if she was willing to let go despite her worries and sadness, he should be too. After all, nothing could last forever could it? _Alright…_he sighed. At that moment, it was like a weight was lifted and he was released. Closing his eyes as his last breath formed an icy cloud in the cold air, the wolf savored his last moment with his sister.

This time, when death came with its offer of rest, Ani accepted.

* * *

><p>There was nothing Kiyoshi ever experienced that was more painful than having her brother die in her arms. She didn't want him to die, but she cared too much to let him suffer for her sake. And her attempt to speak in the wolf language was the best way she could think of to get him to understand that. Thankfully it was easy in a sense, considering it was a dialect that was so quiet a damaged throat like hers wouldn't get in the way.<p>

Gently, she lowered the wolf's head to the ground and rubbed her eyes dry. Already the snow was covering the blood-matted fur and changing it back to white. Kiyoshi stood after allowing herself to recover her bearings and slowly continued along the trail. With every step her sorrow turned into anger. The signs of another Anbu were everywhere, and luckily it was the last. If the black wolf was still alive the human would be after him. Kiyoshi paused briefly to devise a plan then picked up the pace, running as fast as she could and not losing a single breath.

_That human will pay with his life!_

* * *

><p>From the scorch marks and scattered shuriken throughout the pass, it was obvious the fight had been gradually moving for quite some time. Ice formed in rock-hard crystals along the cliff of the mountain. Every possible chasm was sealed over by the snow and one false step could be a death sentence. Kiyoshi didn't care. Her only thought was to find her black furred brother and tear the Anbu apart. And they were close. The rumbling was louder and the spouts of fire were just around the corner.<p>

Before she could round the bend, the girl saw the anbu running back toward the forest using the unsteady stretches of the cliff as an escape route and she immediately thought the worst. _You murderous coward! _She was about to give chase until she saw the black wolf scrambling to follow the same way. _He's alive!_ Kiyoshi whistled to him, letting the updraft carry it for her. Her brother came to a halt at the edge of a drop-off, causing a series of shards to break loose and fall. He looked around until he spotted her and ran back the way he came.

Kiyoshi saw where he was headed and ran to meet the wolf halfway. When they were face to face, she was disappointed to see a bloody scar stretched from his muzzle to his left ear, where half of it was gone. Another injury cut into his right eye. The girl whimpered her concern, but the wolf only shook his head as if it were nothing.

She sighed in both amusement and relief and threw her arms around his neck. He huffed in irritation when she nearly knocked him over, but Kiyoshi didn't care. _Thank you for being alive…_

The wolf pulled away and looked around frantically. It was obvious what, rather who, he was looking for. Kiyoshi took a deep breath and sighed. She didn't want to talk in wolf tongue right now, with all the questions it would bring up like how she figured it out in the first place. Of course, the answer to that was simply her hearing. She could hear the smallest sounds her brothers formed into words while the den was quiet at night. However, she had only learned to use the basic speech patterns. Enough, at the moment, to convince the white wolf to let go. _If only I learned sooner…_Kiyoshi thought with a pang of sadness. _We would have been able to talk more._ The only way she could think of to have the black wolf get the bigger picture, Kiyoshi continued along the pass. Sure enough, he whined in a sorrowful tone and followed with heavy pawsteps.

They were alone now. No home, no family but each other, and nothing to look forward to. All that's left was to move forward. But where? It's not like they had anywhere to go. Kiyoshi thought of Kisame and growled under her breath. He was lucky. He actually had a home. Geez, he talked about it all the time the past few days. Something about "Akatsuki" and how each member was basically an outcast and a freak in their own right, all living under one roof and carrying out orders from their leader. To Kiyoshi, it sounded like a human version of a pack. A pack was something she hadn't known for a long time since the she-wolf who raised her was killed. Now that she thought about it, she wanted to be in a pack again. She shook her head. _What am I thinking? No bunch of humans would want to take us in._ She glanced at the black wolf. He had more injuries than just the ones dealt to his face. There was blood coming from his shoulder and back leg, which was causing him to limp. He wouldn't be able to hunt in that condition for a while and neither of them could do it alone. _Then again…_she thought with a pang of guilt. _If we don't think of _something _we'll never make it._ Worse, the anbu that got away could come back with reinforcements and then they would be in even more trouble.

_I guess….we'll have to take our chances…_She could still feel the skin-crawling sensation of Kisame's aura, but it was far off. If they were to catch up to him, Kiyoshi would have to help her brother pick up the pace despite his leg. It would be hard, but what other chance was there?


	14. It's Hard to Accept

_Ani is dead…..he is actually dead…._ Otouto couldn't believe it as he fought off the waves of pain from the wounds dealt to his face and body. His brother was with him earlier this morning, but now he was laying lifeless back in the forest. On top of that, from what the black wolf read from his sister's actions, their home was gone as well. There was no turning back to their former home. It had been tainted one too many times with both wolf and human blood. It was hardly even worth the effort to recall the tragedies in memory, but the wolf knew better than to forget the past.

He looked at Imouto. Her eyes were cold like the ice and snow. However, her motion and the way she held her head told Otouto she was also grieving with a heavy heart. When she adjusted the blanket, he noticed the bandaging on her arm from a few days ago. It had been changed since then, but specks of red dotted the pattern of Otouto's teeth. That suddenly caused the wolf to panic inside. After that incident, he couldn't trust himself around his adopted sister. What if something happened? What if he hurt her again? _What if…..what if I kill her next time?_ At the gruesome thought he yelped under his breath, causing Imouto to flip around with wide, blackish-blue eyes. She whimpered in a high pitch, clearly worried if Otouto was in a worse condition than what she thought. To hide his self-concern of almost letting his thoughts show and to keep them from being discovered, the black wolf snorted and began to trot at a slightly quicker pace despite his limp. It gave the illusion she was right about his injuries bothering him, and he was acting as if nothing was wrong just to act tough. This would be usual in most injury-based circumstances, but not in this case.

Well aware of his bloody pawprints in the snow behind him, he slowed down after pulling ahead several tree-lengths, allowing his sister to catch up and walk beside him once again. _I cannot think such things. It might come true if I do…_

A dull noise interrupted his thoughts and he paused briefly. When it didn't occur again, Otouto dismissed it as nothing. The sound had come from his left, on the side of his mangled ear. With it in such bad shape, he could not hear very well. And the blood trailing into his ear gave the noisy illusion of rumbling water whenever he tried to focus his hearing on any one thing. The black wolf figured that was the case and simply shook his head in attempt to clear the gurgling sound.

The snowfall slowly picked up speed over the course of the next hour or so as well as the girl. But she didn't walk so fast Otouto couldn't match her. She obviously had her mind set on something, but he had no idea as to what. _What could it be?_ It was almost dark now and the snow was little more than ankle deep. Wherever they were going, he hoped it was some sort of shelter. The ground was mainly made up of thick ice. Each step had to be tentative otherwise the rare thin patches mixed between the thicker ice would break. Otouto wasn't willing to take the chance of either him or his sister taking a fall to their death, but it seemed she had no intention of changing course.

Growling under his breath, the wolf's black fur spiked in aggravation and helplessness. _Those humans never should have come, _he thought with anger. _Ani would not be dead, I would not be injured, Imouto would not be leading us away to who-knows-where, and we would not be forced to leave our home._ None of it would have happened and they wouldn't have to travel this dangerous path in such weather. Yes the prey in the forest had become increasingly, rather dangerously, scarce but it was far better than being in this mess. To add to it all, Imouto was beginning to smell like the first human. Otouto was just able to pick up the odd mix of scents over the smokiness of the snow.

Remembering the human was like a wakeup call for the blame game. _It is _his_fault! If only Imouto let him die! _But she didn't. She just _had _to save the pathetic little outsider! And from what he could tell, she was growing somewhat attached to him since he was brought to the cave. That was the only place he had been, but still, Otouto could not help but be seething angry and blame every bad event of the past few days on the outsider as if he hadn't. Then he remembered when the human attacked his sister and how she blocked Otouto from crushing his head, forcing the wolf to bite her instead. In his mind, the memory was in slow motion. From when he leapt to the second his sister's forearm became jammed in the back of his jaws. The wolf could see his own eyes, the horror hanging there for what seemed to be an eternity for what he had done. There was no getting the taste of her blood off his tongue, nor the stains out of his fur.

Shaking his head violently, the black wolf fought to get out of the recollection. "_He_ should be dead instead of Ani…" He couldn't stop himself as he snarled at the top of his lungs, and it echoed throughout the mountain. "Curse that wretched human!"

Imouto turned and stared at him. Then she looked up in shock and took a step back as suddenly the rumbling noise from before was loud and obvious as it followed a louder series of reverberating cracks. Otouto recoiled, realizing his mistake too late when a massive shard of ice fell closer than comfort allowed. Higher up the mountain, almost at the peak, he saw the snow begin to shift and slide straight toward them.


	15. Downward Tailspin

An avalanche?! _Dammit!_ She rushed to her brother, stumbling only once or twice due to the quaking of the mountain, and grabbed him by the scruff to pull him onward. But he seemed frozen in place with fear, refusing to budge. _Come! On!_ She latched onto his scruff and yanked as hard as she could and it seemed to snap him out of it. But it was little too late. The snow had come too close and icicles from an overhang had fallen and pierced the ground with enough force to fracture the earth like a frail bone. _What do I do?!_ Kiyoshi panicked. _What do I do?!_ A sudden thought hit her and she didn't bother thinking it over. Forming the necessary hand signs and focusing her chakra, only one thought ran through the back of her mind. Either this works….or they die.

Just as she thought the snow would crush her and her brother, a massive wall of condensed ice and rock shot up in front of them and the snow crashed overhead like an ocean wave. Somewhat shocked but not deterred, Kiyoshi concentrated harder and harder, forcing her chakra further into the ice and willing it into the form she pictured. Almost instantly the wall grew and curved from all angles until it encased them in a hollow ball of the icy rock while the avalanche rumbled above in a thick white sheet. For a minute it worked. Then her brother yipped in alarm and she lost her focus for a second and that was all it took for the fortress to be dislodged from the cliff face. Kiyoshi and the wolf lost their balance and were tossed into a cold wall as the sphere of ice was thrown around with the turbulence of the snow. The ice cracked and broke in a several areas, causing shards of rock to break free and hit Kiyoshi in the head, nearly making her black out. The fear, motion, and cold were not a good combination.

Struggling to keep a halfway-decent balance in the quaking sphere, she stood against the ice and tried to see where they were going. Though, she really didn't want to know. About half a mile off and coming up fast, the snow split around a massive boulder at the edge of a cliff. Kiyoshi could hardly believe how terrified she was. _As fast as we're going we'll be dead if we hit that! _ Without thinking she sealed another series of hand signs and focused her chakra again, though with far more difficulty due to being thrashed around. Just before the sphere hit the jagged edge a mass of snow surged beneath it like a wave and sent it into the air and over the cliff in an explosion of white. Despite the heavy force, it left the sphere in basically one piece. But then Kiyoshi saw how far of a drop it was to the ground and wondered if it would have been better if the boulder had killed them. Now she had to worry about the impact of the fall killing them instead. When her brother finally noticed their position he let out such a high-pitch yowl he could have been screaming.

Out of options and energy and the ground only seconds away, Kiyoshi slammed her eyes shut as another surge caused her to fall back and she waited for her demise. Hardly a moment later, the ice and rock shattered as it came to an abrupt halt against solid ground and the oncoming snow piled on top of her and the wolf.

She didn't know how long it had been when she woke up feeling suffocated by the weight of snow and ice. _I'm…actually alive?_ Her head felt heavily clouded and ached terribly as well as the rest of her body. It felt similar yet ten times worse than the first time she performed that healing jutsu on Kisame. When the cold hit her she had the jolt she needed to force her limbs to move. Each flex of her hands and arms allowed warmth to return and she could feel the snow slowly melting up to a point where she could at least turn a little. Then taking her first guess as to which way was up, she dug her fingers into the snow and began clawing her way out. It was so packed it took her nearly half an hour to dig just over three feet. Every several inches she made indentations in the snow she could use as footholds to climb. Two hours later she finally reached the surface and gasped as she pulled herself on top of the snow. Her heart still raced with the fear of suffocation under twelve feet of snow. _Damn! This is why I freaking hate winter!_

A dull _whump_ followed by scratching caught her attention. Several feet away the wolf was struggling to get out of the hole he dug free from. Kiyoshi hurried over despite her stiffly shaking limbs and helped him. He seemed to be just as exhausted as her, but luckily he wasn't hurt any more than he already was. While he stood and shook the snow off his black fur Kiyoshi frowned. She couldn't forget what he said before the avalanche. His voice was full of so much rage… _He….he really hates Kisame, doesn't he? _It didn't take a lot to figure it out. Her brother didn't know any other humans. And after all that happened, Ani's death and the destruction of their home, he had no one else to blame. Well….he actually _did_, but Kiyoshi knew he wouldn't accept it.

She whistled quietly to signal the wolf that they had to get moving and took the lead. As she walked her anxiety level rose. Thanks to the avalanche they traveled a day's walk in less than seven minutes and she could easily feel the difference in atmosphere. With her skin crawling, she could tell the shark man wasn't much farther ahead. Only by a mile or so. Suddenly she felt sick. Her brother didn't know she planned to go to Kisame. As much as he hated the outsider there was no way this would go over well with him. _Nothing to do except….wait and see._

Little by little Kiyoshi picked up the pace. Not exactly to hurry, but to jog off her anxiety. Though, she had to keep her brother's injuries in mind and slowed down for him to catch up. Even though he had all the energy in the world to curse under his breath, he didn't have the strength to move very fast at the moment. And the gashes on his face were still cause for concern. He was thrashing his head back and forth due to the blood slowly streaming into his eyes and the white moon shaped marks on his cheek fur. If the injury didn't stop bleeding he would either thrash himself dizzy or his vision would become so impaired all he'd see is red. _The sooner we catch up to Kisame, the better,_ she thought speeding up again.

The closer they came, the more her skin crawled. Soon it was almost as if she was in a chokehold, the atmosphere was so thick with the shark man's vicious aura. It was her cue to stop and observe her surroundings more carefully. With the darkness, dense woods, and shin-high snow, losing Kisame's trail was a real possibility. So was getting lost. Being out in a new territory for the first time was extremely unsettling. Not knowing where anything was or how to get anywhere from any given location… _What the heck is _wrong_with me?_ Kiyoshi growled under her breath, pressing down her panic. _I've actually put us in more danger coming here! _she thought angrily. Was everything she did these past few weeks going to be a mistake? _No,_ she thought shaking her head._I came this far, I'm not going back now!_ Not thinking of what she was doing, she charged off into the trees, trusting her brother would do his best to keep up. She was also careful of not making any noise by avoiding the brush and low overhanging branches. After what happened today, she and the wolf couldn't afford letting anyone know they were here and risk being ambushed.

So much for that. An abrupt crash nearby stopped her and she looked around trying to get a pinpoint on the sound as it continued. Then a massive figure landed less than a meter away, making the ground rumble as snow fell from the branches above. Kiyoshi fell back, landing on her injured arm and yelping at the sudden sting. Just then, the wolf came up behind her and began snarling. Having been knocked dizzy by the fall, she shook her head to clear her vision then opened her eyes to see a bandaged sword in her face. _Is that…?_ Focusing a little more, she noticed a familiar misty scent and burning hostility in the air. Lifting her eyes, she saw the sharp golden eyes of her potential attacker. It was Kisame.


	16. Decisions, Decisions

"Kiyoshi?!" He lowered the rattling Samehada, making sure he wasn't mistaken. _Sure enough…_ He recognized the surprised bright yellow color in her eyes from when he woke up in the cave three days ago. "What the hell are you doing out here? I could've killed you!"

Her expression went from stunned to angry, her eye color changing to a brownish-amber, and she stood up, dusting the snow off the blanket pinned around her shoulders. *What are _you _doing dropping out of a tree like a stupid bird?* she signed.

"Stupid?" Kisame fumed. "Why, you little-!" He took a step forward only to be stopped by the black wolf leaping in front of him. He hadn't exactly noticed it despite the contrast between its fur and the snow, and the memory of its attempt on his life was still fresh in his mind. Then he noticed its injuries and he felt like he could face it this time. "Looks like you went through a meat grinder, mutt," he said with a challenging grin. The wolf bared its teeth but before it could lunge Kiyoshi stepped between them. She glared at the wolf and snarled, baring her own sharp canine-like teeth until it backed down. Kisame was confused. Not that he was complaining, but he thought it should be the other way around; her making _him_ back off, not the wolf. She hardly ever scolded her so-called 'brothers'. A thought crossed his mind. "Where's the white one?"

At his question Kiyoshi's shoulders dropped. He didn't know why until she turned and faced him with a sad, angry look in her eyes. *Dead.* _Well, that sucks._ He didn't say it out loud though. The way it came across in his mind was rather snide, and he knew the result would be unpleasant. After all, he hadn't completely healed yet. Whether she helped him or not, she wouldn't hesitate to break his bones again if he gave her a reason.

Returning the shark skin sword to its place on his back, Kisame sighed. He noticed the wolf settle now he was basically unarmed but its yellow eyes still held the look of fierce contempt and the growl all but ceased. "So what's the deal? Why the hell are you following me?" he asked folding his arms.

Without looking at him she responded, *Our home is destroyed and we have nowhere to go.*

"And….what does that have to do with you stalking me?" Kiyoshi promptly scowled and smacked him on the arm. It only stung, but nonetheless uncalled for. It wasn't like he was trying to be offensive. Lightening the mood was hardly reason enough to be hit. "Damn, I was just kidding!"

*This is serious, moron!*

He was taken aback at the insult. As his temper spiked, Samehada rattled once again in hopes a fight would break out. It certainly would have. Kisame had half a mind to tear her limb from limb for calling him that! But…from her clenched jaw, balled up fists, and the pain in her expression she was failing to hide, it was obvious she was holding back a lot more than he imagined. Kisame exhaled to suppress his anger. "Very well then. I'm listening." He hoped she wouldn't mind his choice of words, considering she couldn't talk so he wouldn't actually be hearing much. She didn't seem to care.

For a while they just stood in the snow and Kisame waited as patiently as possible for Kiyoshi to settle even though the cold was practically freezing his skin due to lack of movement. Finally she took a deep breath and began signing again, this time looking the shark nin in the eyes. *I want to join.*

It took him a few seconds to process what she meant. "Woah, woah, woah! Hold on! You want to join the _Akatsuki_?" She nodded. "Are you insane, runt?" When she gave him a confused look, he figured he might as well go on. "The Akatsuki is _not_ something to be taken lightly. No one has ever gotten in just by saying 'let me join' and everything's all fine and good. If you don't pass the test the leader will kill you himself!"

At first she looked surprised as the last part sunk in and even the wolf's messed up face wore an expression of uncertainty. However, it quickly turned into determination. *Then I will pass and prove I am not a burden.*

Kisame was about to protest, but thought it over. He knew he couldn't present her to the leader without some kind of skill. She had a few really, but only two in particular stood out. Despite her struggling and being made fun of for it, her ability to learn a new jutsu and perform it with efficiency in a short time was remarkable. And her healing jutsu wasn't half bad either. One of the members had some medical knowledge, but not enough to be truly effective. So, basically, the Akatsuki could always use someone with medical skills no matter how much of a beginner they seemed to be. Beginners could always improve with training just like the rest of them. Though, there was still one problem despite that.

Kiyoshi already told him she hated humans, him included. If she joined the organization she would have to be around several. It wasn't something she could simply forget, but would have to get over otherwise she would be starting fights right and left. _She has to know that.._. Maybe she really was out of options if joining the Akatsuki was a serious proposition. _And like hell anything is going to change her mind…_ he thought in annoyance. Normally he wouldn't give a damn. But something was different this time and he didn't know what except that it was worth keeping around. "Alright. I guess the least I can do is give you and the mutt a shot, but no promises." For a moment he thought he saw some kind of emotion spark behind her eyes, but she quickly hid it and nodded. "Come on, then. I don't want to stand here freezing my ass off any longer than I have to." As he turned, he heard the wolf growling under its breath. Doing his best to ignore it, Kisame kept walking. He could only trust Kiyoshi wouldn't let it attack him as he focused on his way back to the camp he set up further in.

Earlier, before it was dark, he found an area under a dense canopy of trees where the snow hadn't managed to fall through so he could rest after traveling since dawn. If it weren't for his wounds he wouldn't have stopped until tomorrow night. But the cold caused such a tormenting ache at the time he finally gave up to stay sane. He wasn't used to being in constant pain by any stretch of the imagination and Samehada hadn't gathered enough chakra to help him heal yet. Being practically helpless was driving him mad. So when he detected a chakra signature Kisame was ready to kill anything to relieve his frustration. But Kiyoshi was a whole other story. Had it been anyone other than her, they'd have been dead in seconds. The thought in mind, the shark nin figured he should make it clear as soon as they reached the camp. "Sneaking up on me was really the worst thing you could've done, runt," he said sitting against a tree. "If it weren't for the dim-as-hell light out here I'd have killed you without question."

After settling at the opposite side of the small clearing with the wolf lying next to her she shrugged then signed, *I cannot afford to be attacked again. Neither can my brother. The choices were either to be hidden or risk running into a fight we could not win.*

_Fair enough, _he hated to admit._Though I still don't like surprises. _He kept the thought to himself and changed the subject. "You were attacked?"

Her eyes were like daggers. *Why else would one of my brothers be dead and the other badly hurt?*

"I don't know, I thought the monster cat might have come back or something. In case you hadn't noticed, I wasn't _there_," he stated.

*Obviously.*

_Ouch…_ Kisame didn't have to hear the bluntness behind her words to know it was there. But right now, he didn't want to argue. He wanted answers. "So who attacked you?"

*Masked humans. One came after me, and three went after my brothers. I killed one and two others were already dead when I found them and my first brother in the forest.* She diverted her furious gaze to the ground and Kisame noticed her tighten her jaw again. He figured she must have been remembering the scene, to not be continuing with her explanation quite yet. But he quietly waited until she did. *I tracked the last human to the mountain, but he got away.* She scowled. *It was one too many, if you ask me.*

Kisame thought for a moment, all things being considered. "Let me guess…were they Anbu black ops?" Hearing that caused her to jolt and lock her attention on him. Not even a moment passed before she nodded. _Hm…she and those wolves took out three Anbu…. Granted the white one was killed and one of the Anbu got away, but they always come back and can be dealt with later and casualties certainly aren't rare. _The shark nin smirked, showing his teeth. _Color me impressed. I knew the runt was tough, but this really adds to her résumé._ "I gotta say, well done. The black ops are tough opponents to beat. Frankly, it's impressive you two got away alive."

Kiyoshi just blinked and looked away and the wolf whimpered with its remaining ear lowered. *My brother gave his life to keep us safe. I guess there was no choice, but I wish things turned out differently.* _I don't doubt it. _Kisame realized she wanted the conversation ended, so he didn't push the issue further.

Turning slightly, she grabbed a fist full of snow off the nearby bank and then shifted closer to the wolf's head. As the snow melted in her hands she gently rubbed it into the massive canine's black fur, washing matted blood from the injures and massaging its head at the same time. Making no protest whatsoever, the wolf only blinked once in a while to keep the water from getting in its eyes. By the time each gash was clean it had drifted asleep and Kiyoshi focused on her own injuries.

Once she removed the bandages from her forearms, legs, and feet, Kisame noticed they were a deep shade of red. The beginning stage of frostbite. However long she's been out in the snow it won't be much longer until it's a serious problem. To make matters worse, the injuries she obtained the other day didn't seem to be healing. She didn't look too happy about it either. Lifting her head, she snapped her fingers to be sure the shark nin was paying attention then signed *Toss me your travel bag.*

"What for?"

*I put extra bandages in it yesterday because I had nowhere else to put them. Now hand it over.*

_Pushy much? _"Whatever," he said picking up the bag and throwing it at her. "Think fast, runt."

Not reacting in the least to his slight anger fit, Kiyoshi catches and opens it. Almost immediately she pauses and starts digging through the bag, pulling out one item after another. The shark nin could scarcely hear her sniffing around for something. _The hell?_ A moment later she pulls out a book. Her sign language dictionary. She shoots him a disbelieving look as if to say _'Really?'_ Her upset expression, he knew, came from understanding the fact he stole the book from her. She briefly set the book down in her lap and signed, *Thief.*

Kisame retorted, "Well, it's not like you needed it anymore!" In all honesty, he did have a good reason for taking it. Tonight wasn't the first time he had gone over his observations of her skills. Once he was back at the base, he planned to run it by the leader and possibly come back for her. Obviously, things turned out differently. He wasn't planning on being caught red handed after what she had done for him. It was low even by his standards, and he knew it. And being defensive was the only way he could figure to hide his self-embarrassment.

Rolling her eyes in irritation, she threw the book at him in the same manner as last time. It had already hit him in the shoulder by the time he caught it. His stiff joints made sure of that. _Damn her_ and_this cold weather!_ He couldn't wait to get back to the hideout. At least there he could have _some_ peace and quiet. Sure Kiyoshi couldn't exactly talk and was quiet enough, but as long as Kisame could _see_ what she said it didn't count. She might as well be as loud and irritating as the Akatsuki's younger members. _Hmph._ By that standard, she already fit in.


	17. No Time for Rest

As much as Kiyoshi wanted to sleep, her senses were on high alert. She hated how vulnerable she felt. Even if this area was somewhat hidden, it was still too open in comparison to the walls of the cave. And hearing one less familiar breath pattern seemed to leave room for all sorts of distant noises to invade her ears and keep her wide awake. One little sound after another made her to jolt and reach for the kunai at her hip. _Blast it! _That last one was from nothing but a young snow hare as it flashed in front of her. After it hit the opposite snow bank she lost sight of it in all the white. It was all the more disappointing because she could have taken the opportunity to hunt the animal, but she realized she didn't dare leave her brother behind with Kisame. She didn't trust the human for one, but she couldn't take the chance of the wolf killing him because he was their only chance at this point.

Sighing, she put the kunai away and curled into her brother's side and dug her fingers into his fur. It had been roughly eight hours since they settled here for the night, six since Kisame fell asleep, and overall thirteen since the white wolf died. Soon it would be sunrise. Though, she couldn't get comfortable enough to sleep for the few hours she had left. Despite the fact Kisame was willing to at least try to help, it didn't change the fact Kiyoshi's previous life had fallen to pieces and a part of her wanted to blame him. There was a nagging thought in the back of her mind saying he was the reason the Anbu showed up. Her one and only clue was the faint scent of pine and evergreen trees. She could smell it on Kisame and also on the Anbu she killed. And none of the said trees grew around here from what she could tell. So had they followed the shark man and his partner all the way to the forest? _But why did they attack us too? _Kiyoshi thought, thinking back to the human she killed, the others that died along side her white-furred brother, and the one that got away. If Kisame was the one they were after, why bother with anyone else? _It doesn't make sense…._

Suddenly the shark nin's sword began to rattle frantically, causing him to wake up in an irritated daze. "Samehada!" he growled drowsily. "What's the matter with you?" It's rattling grew more furious for a moment then stopped abruptly. At the same moment, the wolf awoke and jerked his head to the north. He sniffed the air for a moment before snarling quietly. "Dammit…" Kisame grabbed his sword and bag and got to his feet. "Get up, runt!" he ordered. "It's a ninja patrol! We have to get out of here right now!"

Kiyoshi was both surprised and annoyed he was ordering her around with that stupid nickname, but did as she was told anyway. She didn't want any more humans adding to her aggravation because the one was enough for now. She would happily move out to assure her and the black wolf's safety. The odd thing was, as soon as she stood and turned to leave, the air in her chest and throat tightened to the point it was difficult to breathe. Feeling this caused her to freeze in place. As her fist clenched on its own she realized she didn't want to just _leave_. _'That's a coward's way out,'_ a voice growled in her head. _'Destroy the enemy!'_

Yes… That's what she wanted. To eliminate the threat. As she latched onto the kunai and took a fighting stance, her mind blurred of all rationality. Her memory faltered as well and she couldn't remember what she was even doing out here or if she was with anyone else. She could only focus on quenching the need to destroy the humans coming, not hearing the voice attempting to get her attention. Kiyoshi took a step forward, ready and eager for a fight. But then there was a sudden grip on her wrist and faint mist-like scent. Slowly she began hearing things other than the blood roaring in her ears. A frantic whimper, a faint rain shower-like rattling, and someone yelling at her. Good _god_ why were they yelling? She flinched as her mind readjusted and the sounds seemingly amplified all at once. The incessant yelling being the absolute worst.

Blinking wide-eyed, Kiyoshi jolted in shock when Kisame yelled again. "Damn you, Kiyoshi! You're going to get us killed! Come _on!_" He then proceeded to yank and drag her by the arm out of the clearing. Though, she was too confused to protest about his attitude. It wasn't that she failed to remember what was going on, but that she somehow….. blanked out. As they ran her brother kept glancing back at her with concern lacing his scarred face while the shark nin cussed and raved furiously, saying she was lucky he didn't decide to just leave her behind for ignoring him. _What just happened?_


	18. Is There Such a Thing as Mercy?

Four days had passed when they had finally come within a few miles of the base, and there hadn't been any more…_episodes_ from Kiyoshi like before. It was like she became possessed by the way she was acting. Even Samehada was anxious at her bizarre change of behavior. The shark nin was still furious about the situation because Kiyoshi insisted she didn't know what happened and wouldn't explain further. And he couldn't force her to stop and think about it because the mutt wouldn't let him get close enough to do so. In the end he begrudgingly decided the remainder of the trip was better off traveled in silence.

It was almost noon and the sun was in clear view, but it failed to melt the snow or warm the air in the slightest. By now Kisame was nearly numb to the cold as he led the way. Kiyoshi and the wolf were behind him, so he made it a priority to listen to their footsteps. _They better not turn tail and run off, _he thought. If they did, his obligation as an Akatsuki member was to hunt them down and kill them both. That was one detail he left out and, in hindsight, he didn't know why. Glancing back, he wondered if now would be a good time. Then he realized just how far they were behind. Almost ten feet. Since the snowfall thinned it hadn't muffled sounds quite as much, so Kisame didn't notice when the other two started falling behind. "Hurry it up, Kiyoshi!" he ordered.

Other than a sharp glare she didn't react. The wolf didn't either.

He growled in irritation. It was bad enough they couldn't travel at night this whole time, but slowing down this much during the day _especially_ when they were so close to the base? _You've got to be kidding me! _"I said _hurry up!_" She did seem to start making an effort at first so Kisame turned around and continued. Not five minutes later he heard the snow crunch and flipped around to see her sitting on her hands and knees in the snow.

* * *

><p>Kiyoshi cringed when she fell. What started as a simple misstep turned into a serious problem. <em>No! This can't be happening <em>now_!_ she thought. She heard her brother whimpering in alarm for her to get up. He was saying, _"Imouto! Imouto, what is wrong?! Get up! Get up!"_ Putting a hand on her knee she tried forcing herself to stand again, but her limbs only trembled violently and refused. She grit her teeth in anger. Going days without eating and having no sleep had finally taken its toll and whatever strength she had left was deserting her. Soon she wouldn't be able to do so much as stay awake. _Curse it all…_

"What did I just say?!" the shark nin shouted. She hadn't noticed him walking over to her, and the rattling of his sword only just became apparent as well as the spike in his angry aura. When the wolf snarled for him to stay away, Kiyoshi knew how close he was. She couldn't even lift her head to look at him as he shouted again. "If you don't stand up this second-!" Before he could take another step forward the wolf snapped at him. Kiyoshi tried forcing herself to move once again. She didn't want them fighting and knew how imperative it was that they keep going. But she was hardly able to stand halfway before slumping back to the ground. Cold desperation swept over her as she realized her body refused to cooperate, and she scarcely felt her heartbeat beginning to slow on its own. Pure adrenaline just couldn't keep up the pace anymore. A stinging pain spread throughout her body and quickly became too much for Kiyoshi to handle, and she fully sank to her side in the snow as the world started growing dark.

* * *

><p>At first he thought she might have been faking the second fall. But the twinge of fear in her expression before collapsing convinced him otherwise, so he forced his anger back to a minimum. In response Samehada settled as well. <em>So I was right after all,<em> the shark nin thought. He figured she would not exactly last through the winter while she was living in that god forsaken cave, but the severe fatigue seemed to be excelling the process. If her body was giving out now, it wouldn't be much longer before she loses consciousness and quite possibly dies. With that, he thought about just leaving her. Considering the bitter weather would do his job for him and repercussions from the leader wouldn't be an issue, he very well could. Even the wolf would either freeze or starve to death as injured as it was. But…. Kisame sighed under his breath. There was that detestable feeling again, nagging at the back of his head. Unlike the countless people he had come across before, he did not like the idea of Kiyoshi being dead. This prompted a mental growl. _I don't know why I even give a damn…_

Kisame began to step toward her and was almost stopped by the wolf. It stood over her growling with every one of its teeth bared and its mangled expression full of threat. There wasn't time for this! Clenching his fist, Kisame continued forward and shoved the massive beast out of the way. "Back off!" He expected it to recoil and attack, but instead it stood there with its remaining ear flattened and eyes wide with shock.

Confidant the wolf would leave him alone for the moment, he crouched next to Kiyoshi. He noticed her eye color had changed from hazel to gray and were beginning to dull. With the dark circles around her half-closed eyes, trembling, and ragged breathing, she looked like a sick dog. It wasn't a state he imagined her in even though he saw it coming to begin with. Kisame knew she was by no means the weak type, but now she was completely defenseless. In a way it ticked him off to see her in such a pathetic condition because she allowed herself to get this way. "You know, runt, I have half a mind to put you out of your misery right here," he stated harshly. The wolf growled behind him but he ignored it. He huffed in exasperation. "But…I guess I already made a deal with you, didn't I?"

Kiyoshi's eyes were little more than slits by the time she finally seemed to respond to what he said, though she only managed a feeble glance. He didn't expect more than that, considering she might not be able to process much of anything at this point. However, the shark nin thought he saw a glimmer of confusion before she cringed with pain. _I bet every last cell in her body is punishing her, _he thought. _Not that she doesn't deserve it._

For a second he wondered what to do exactly to get her the rest of the way to the organization's hideout. Quickly settling on a decision, he removed Samehada from its place on his back and momentarily set it aside. Then he took Kiyoshi by the arm, lifted her out of the snow, and shifted her so she was supported on his back with her arms around his neck. _She might as well be a rag doll, she's so limp… _He heard the wolf growl in protest of his action but Kisame just shot it a glare as he picked up Samehada by the handle. "Shut it, mutt!" He looked at the cloudy sky and found the bright shape of the sun overhead. "We'll have to pick up the pace if we want to get to the hideout before it starts getting dark." He continued while avoiding eye contact with the animal as he deciphered the quickest route to the base. "Either get your carcass moving or stay here and rot." Without another word he took off running and was satisfied to hear the wolf trailing closely behind. The pattern of its thundering pawsteps was irregular and frantic due to its injuries, but Kisame wasn't willing to slow down. He almost hated to admit to himself that he was doing so, but he wasn't going to let a mile or two make the difference between life and death.


	19. A Solemn Vow

_Ugh! That stupid human!_ Otouto grimaced as he stumbled over a fallen branch, landing awkwardly on his injured hind leg. He was practically dragging it at this point and it kept him lagging at a distance, and his scarred eye wasn't doing him any favors either. If it weren't for the black wolf's persistence and determination to keep his ailing sister within sight, he would have fallen too far behind. Hauling himself back to his paws, he put every ounce of his effort into picking up speed until he was almost running next to the outsider. "You are not getting away with Imouto so easily!" he snarled through his teeth. He was sure the shark-man was using her critical state as an excuse to leave him in the dust.

Whether or not it was true, he refused to let that happen. Otouto's gaze shifted toward her. Did she pass out? Her head was resting at the base of the human's neck and her eyes were closed. Also, her expressionless features implied she wasn't in distress. Or perhaps she could not feel the pain, which could mean a far worse scenario.

Back in the forest, when the pack still existed, it wasn't uncommon for wolves at the very end of their days to stop noticing aches and pains because their bodies felt distant as they reached death's door. Then before anyone knew it the saddening moment passed. Was Imouto having the same experience? _Please, no! _ Otouto launched himself over a boulder as the terrible prospect struck him and his heart sank with fear. _I already lost Ani, I cannot lose her too! After everything… After I promised to protect her…_

**-Flashback—**

_Sunlight blazed through the thick canopy of leaves as the pack relaxed in the forest. It was almost the end of spring, so everyone was well-fed and full of life. Especially two cubs who bounded over and around the pack members, sometimes darting between their paws and making them stumble. Their mother, young and in her prime, watched them proudly and with joyful amusement as the light dappled her blonde pelt. Her cubs were the first of the year. Soon they would be the protectors of those born after them. For now, however, they could simply be themselves._

_ Otouto, the youngest, did all the running. Which left Ani, the firstborn, to do all the chasing. Most cubs their age would think of nothing but play and fun, but he might just worry off all his white fur before he is two seasons old. He was always so careful and cautious. What fun is a brother like that? Otouto believed he should teach his silly littermate a thing or two. "Ani, try to catch me!" he woofed cheerily as he paused to turn in a brief circle and dart away again with his tail wagging in the air._

_ The white-furred cub dodged and weaved as best he could, narrowly avoiding a grouchy, sleep-deprived elder. "But what if you step on someone's tail?" he called back. "Then neither of us can play!"_

_ "Quit being such a worry-weasel!" Otouto doubled back and pounced on his brother, pinning him on his back. An idea struck him and he looked down at Ani with a goofy, challenging grin. "Or are you too scared of having any _real_fun?"_

_ "'Real fun?'" He asked confused._

_ He waited until a pack member drew away their mother's attention. She would be occupied for a little while. "Like exploring all the way to Blood Trees," he whispered. The trees were not really made of or covered in blood, but their bark was so red it looked like they were. And they grew in an almost perfect circle around a tiny clearing. Otouto had been there once when he went off by himself and came back without anyone noticing. It was the coolest place in the whole forest!_

_ "What?! No!" Ani shoved him off with his back legs and rolled to his paws. "That is _forever_away," he whined disapprovingly. "We will get in trouble…"_

_ "Itty bitty scaredy lion kitty!" the black cub taunted._

_ Ani's eyes widened in annoyance and his voice became defensive. "I am _not_a lion kitty!"_

_ "So you admit you are little and scared?" he teased with a grin. The crescent moon-shaped marks on his cheek fur became crooked._

_ "No! I am not little _or_scared," he insisted with a stomp of his paw._

_ "Then come _on_and prove it!" He said then bounded into the trees._

_ "Uh-! Wait! Otouto!" Ani chased after him, and soon they were quite lost. The black cub would never admit that of course. No matter what, he had to be right even if he was not. Perhaps one of these days he would be._

_ This patch of the forest was rather dark, the canopy above too thick for light to get through. Some of the bushes and shorter trees were dead or dying from lack of sun, which gave this place a somewhat spooky atmosphere. "I think we are going the right way," Otouto stated, though he did not fully believe it. After all, he had only stumbled across Blood Trees by accident the first time. When his mother asked how he knew about them, he just said one of the elder's told him._

_ Ani groaned behind him. "You do not know where we are. Let us go back already."_

_ "I do know where we are!" he chuffed with a flick of his tail. Sticking his nose in the air to pretend he was looking for a certain scent, he exclaimed, "This way!" and trotted on down a barely visible path to his right. What could be a better way of being right than going _right? _It certainly made sense to him._

_As the two padded on the sharp tang of iron slowly began to fill the air. _That is weird,_Otouto thought as he paused. No one had gone hunting today, so where could it be coming from? He wanted to find out so he started forward again, but Ani clamped down on his tail and pulled him back. "Hey!" he yelped. "What was that for?"_

_ "I know you smell it too," Ani said. His voice was full of the kind of authority they would hear from the alpha, and the black band of fur on his forehead furrowed. "This is bad. We should just go back. Now."_

_ "But that is why we should keep going," he argued. "We can find out what it is and, if it is really bad, we can go back and warn mother." In all honesty, he was using his reasoning as an excuse to keep exploring. Luckily, his brother did not realize this and begrudgingly nodded his head in agreement. "Okay then." Otouto shook himself to ward off his nervousness then continued with Ani close behind._

_ Eventually they did come upon Blood Trees. The circle was a few tree-lengths ahead of them, the twisted red branches stretching high and low in all directions like contorted pines. The black cub was not expecting this and was excited for finding his way here again. This time he would remember the path. Unfortunately, something was different. The iron smell was much stronger here, and all the sound of birds, bugs, and critters was gone. Neither of them noticed until now. "Well? Come on, Otouto." A twinge of fear crept into his brother's scent as he shouldered past him. _Maybe this _was_ a bad idea,_Otouto thought. Before they had a chance to get closer than a few pawsteps, they heard a muffled thump and they flinched. The sound came from inside the ring of trees. Tall grass and bushes prevented them from seeing beyond the edge. "What was that?!" Ani panicked as he backed away with his ears flat against his head._

_ Otouto dashed forward to stand protectively in front of his brother with as fierce a snarl as he could muster. The cubs stared toward the direction of the sound for a long time, but when nothing happened Ani dared to inch forward once more._

_ It seemed to take forever. But they finally neared the edge of the circle and pressed themselves low to the ground, hiding themselves in the thick grass. There was a small gap in the tangle of bushes, and Ani was the first to peek through to the clearing, cautiously lifting his head so his eyes were just above the grass. He immediately gasped and started to shrink down, but paused and lifted his head again with his ears pricked and rigid. "What is it?" Otouto asked and craned his neck to have a look. His eyes stretched wide._

_ What he saw was strange, something neither he or his brother had ever seen before. Was it some kind of animal? It certainly was not a wolf. Or anything else he knew of. It had no fur except for on its head, no claws, and no tail. And some weird looking pelts were wrapped around its body. Whatever it was, it was lying on the ground bleeding from its neck and many more bad cuts on its limbs and face. A blood trail stretched behind it and led back into the trees in another direction. Had it been attacked somewhere? "Brother…" Ani started to speak, but Otouto beat him to it. Sort of._

_ "We must go," he said backing up nervously. "We have to tell mother-"_

_ "Tell me _what_?"_

_ The cubs yelped and flipped around at the voice, to see their mother padding up behind them. _How long was she there? _The black cub wondered in shock. He had been so concentrated on the odd creature he forgot to pay attention to the sounds around him. In that moment he realized he and his brother could have been lunch for some animal if it were not mother. Otouto felt like such a fool…_

_ "It is very dangerous to wander so far away from the pack," she said firmly. "Have you anything to say for yourselves?"_

_ "I am sorry, mother…" Otouto apologized with a lowered head and drooping ears. Ani did as well._

_ "Hm. As you should be." Her nose twitched as she noticed the strong iron scent in the air and focused on it. She narrowed her brown eyes and looked toward Blood Trees. "What have you found?" She stepped over her cubs and looked into the circle of trees. Then without warning she leapt through the opening and padded to where the creature was._

_ "Mother?" Ani called after her and quickly followed with Otouto._

_ They stopped behind her as she bent her head to sniff at the creature. "I have never seen a human this far into the forest."_

_ Ani twisted his ears in confusion. "A human? Do they really look like that?"_

_ "Yes. Though, this one is very young. Also strange."_

_ "Really?" He asked inched closer. "How?"_

_ "Well," she started. "Unlike her wounds, she herself does not smell like a human. Perhaps that explains why it looks like her own kind attacked her." A sad expression was on her face as she sat. "What an awful shame."_

_ Otouto finally gathered the courage to near the human. He was eyeing her suspiciously from behind the white cub, but up close was different. She was bigger than him, but still much smaller than his mother. More importantly, she did not smell dead. He remembered what that was like from when an elder passed away only days ago._

_ After a moment he nudged her in the head with his muzzle, then flinched when he heard a feeble whine. The human opened her eyes to mere slits. Only the color of the bark on the trees could rival the deep red color of her eyes. And Otouto felt oddly trapped by the anger, confusion, and fear in them. From the tension coming off of his brother's pelt, he could tell Ani was too._

_ The human's eyes closed almost as soon as they opened, but not before they faded to a dull black. Sitting next to his mother, a twinge of hatred flared inside Otouto. "Humans are stupid…if they want to hurt their own cubs."_

_ Bending her head to give a comforting lick behind his ear, the blonde she-wolf sighed. "I agree." She watched Ani as he touched his nose to a scratch on the human cub's arm, getting his snow white fur dirty. He paced back and forth, looking thoughtful and somewhat frantic. Otouto knew his brother never liked seeing others in danger or pain, but there seemed something else on his mind. Evidently, he was not sure how to say it out loud. So, their mother at least tried to get him started. "What do you think we should do, Ani?" she asked._

_ Lowering his ears, he paused. "We do not have to leave her, do we, mother?"_

_ "Should we?"_

_ Before his brother could answer, Otouto protested. "No!" he exclaimed jumping to his paws. Suddenly he felt out of line and lowered himself to the ground in apology. "I mean, I do not think so…"_

_ "Tell me why," she said calmly. Her voice was so plain, he could not tell if his answer was the right one or not._

_ Ani and Otouto were both at a loss. Neither of them were sure how to explain. "It just…It just feels…" Ani tried first, but could not quite reach his point._

_ "Wrong," Otouto finished._

_ "Yes. That is it," he confirmed. "Leaving her feels wrong."_

_ The she-wolf studied them closely, and soon a soft grin spread across her muzzle. "Simple, yet well said, my cubs." She nuzzled them with affection and approval. "Already you have such good, kind spirits." Pulling away, she settled next to the human, whose wounds seemed to heal as she lapped at them to clean off the blood. "Perhaps you will teach her the same as you grow up together."_

_ Relief, astonishment, and even a hint of excitement flooded Ani's eyes. He laid down next to his mother and set his head between his paws, inches away from the human's face. "A human for family?" he asked curiously, more to himself than anyone else._

_ "That sounds bug-brained." Otouto tilted his head. _

_ She chuckled. "Maybe so." Then her tone became serious. "Think of it this way, Otouto: If a human found one of you hurt in their territory, would you want to be left to suffer?" she asked him. "Would it not be better if the human chose to help you?"_

_ He put her questions to thought. "It would be bad," he said after a minute, "if one of us was left like that." Nonetheless, he could not put aside his new bubble of hate. "But, mother, if humans are so mean to their own cubs," he said looking at the girl. "I would not_ want_help from one." It was scary to think of what a human would do to someone who was different, or not their kind._

_ His mother nodded. "Fair enough, I suppose. Now, let us take your words and use this human cub for example. We do not harm our cubs, nor would we ever. We protect them no matter the case. So would she want us to help her?"_

_ "Oh, yes," he said in complete confidence with a big nod. "And, I think she would want to be protected too, just like us." Otouto paused, looking from his paws, to the human cub, then back again. Then he lifted his head. "And you know what, mother?"_

_ "What, dear?"_

_ "_I _will protect her. Me and Ani, from all the other humans." He puffed out his fur to show he was entirely serious. "I will not let one hurt her. Not ever again."_

**-End Flashback-**

That was the vow he took all those years ago. Of course Ani and their mother did too, but they were both gone now along with the rest of the pack. He was the only one left to keep his family's promise. But he was breaking it by letting this violent, odd-skinned human near Imouto, surely? _He has threatened her countless times, and is nothing _but _a threat. With him around, how can I keep my promise? On my own? And after I have hurt her myself?_

Suddenly the human slowed the pace and nearly stopping altogether. Turning his head to look back, Otouto had to strain to see the distance they have come. The forest he and his sister came from was nothing more than a row of shadowy peaks in the northeast. Now they were at the base of a whole new mountain range full of cliffs, boulders, and canyons filled with trees. For now at least, they were on level ground. Clearly the group could continue on without much trouble, so why had they slowed down? Well, his chest was heaving and his leg certainly was in no condition to run for long, so perhaps this was a sort of blessing.

The black wolf squinted, looking through his surroundings before solely focusing his hearing and sense of smell for anything in peculiar as they walked. Several new scents hit him at once, and he froze with a growl just as the human stopped and three shadows fell from the trees to the ground in front of them. They were wearing the same odd pelts as the shark-man, black with a red cloud pattern. But that was all he could really make out. Due to being blind in one eye, almost all he could see was dully colored shadows and figures.

_Who are they?! _Otouto thought in rage. He spiked his fur and snarled, his good ear laid back. Glancing from the human next to him to the group in front of him, the black wolf was unsure if this human was simply going to turn out as a traitor.

The very air around them crackled with tension and hostility as the shorter one of the figures stepped forward. If this was a trap he and his sister were led into, he was prepared to use whatever strength he had to fight. He would do everything he could to protect Imouto. _Even if it kills me, I will protect her!_


	20. Arrival

"How _interesting_." At the deep, menacing voice, the shark nin took a step back. Sasori was in his Hiruko puppet disguise, which meant he had to stay clear of that poison-laced scorpion tail of his if he wanted a chance to explain. The fact Deidara and Hidan were here certainly didn't help the issue. "Whether back from the grave or an imposter, this does not look good for you."

_Dammit, Itachi,_ he cursed. So that idiotic Uchiha assumed he was dead after all. If only he were here instead of the other two, he would see just how wrong he was. He'd get a slap over the back of his head too. "I am _not_ an imposter," Kisame stated lowly. "And I was never dead, for that matter." _But I could have been, _he bitterly added to himself.

"Oh? That's too bad," Hidan said with a smirk as he adjusted his hold on his triple bladed scythe. "Because we were about to go hunt down your body."

Kisame sneered at the Jashinist. _Thanks for the vote of confidence…_ Though, he would've liked to know what took his partner so long in returning to the base, if these guys were only just coming this way. Then the anbu came to mind. Maybe a second group chased him and he was forced to detour? In all consideration it made sense. "If you're not an imposter, then why do you look like a train wreck? And what's with the chick and the ugly dog, hm?" Deidara asked, taking a few steps forward. _Is he serious?_ If there was ever a worse time for the arsonist to be a rookie this was it. Sure, he was fairly new to the organization and practically a kid, but only a moron would think they could tell someone's identity by a trivial glance at such an inexperienced level.

The wolf's black fur spiked in anger and it snapped in his direction, baring every fang in its jaws and snarling viciously. For the moment it stayed close by instead of attacking, but it seemed non too pleased with Deidara's refusal to back away. "That's between me and Leader," Kisame growled. There was no way he was going to say anything until Kiyoshi was recovered and he could talk to the head of the Akatsuki. Right now, his reasons were none of their business. "And you're not going to stop me."

As if on cue Samehada began to rattle in warning, just before Hidan launched forward and swung the scythe at him. Luckily he was able to block the attack despite being stiff from the frigid air, using Samehada to stop the Jashinist in his tracks. What was better, he was hardly using any effort. The wolf got in on the quarrel, leaping up on its hind legs, snarling as it crunched Hidan's shoulder in its jaws before throwing him backward and ripping the shoulder of the cloak to shreds. Then Samehada's spikes burst out of the wrap and toward Hidan, forcing him to cut his pained protest short while he and the wolf jumped apart. Afterwards the spikes retreated, and Samehada grew quiet once again.

Hidan shot them an infuriated frown, but focused on the wolf. "That f**king hurts, you mutt!" he snapped. The visible puncture wounds bled in a massive 'u' shaped pattern, perfectly matching the wolf's reddened fangs.

"Serves you right for acting so reckless." Sasori sent him a somewhat irritated gaze. "All you're doing is wasting time."

"That was a blatant threat, what was I supposed to do?!"

"Hoshigaki threatens everyone. What else is new?" he asked with a slight hint of sarcasm. "Technically you were assigned to this group as nothing more than a carrier, so _shut up_ before you let the whole nation know where we are." At that Hidan opened his mouth to protest, but quickly snapped it shut with an indignant scoff. Then Sasori returned his attention to the shark nin. "You should have left them," he said. "Whatever your intensions were, they're useless. Especially in that ridiculous state."

Kisame knew he was referring to Kiyoshi and the wolf, and the puppet master was likely correct. It may have been completely pointless to bring them along. However, he already made his decision. He wasn't about to give it up. At least now he could speak without the continued accusation of being an imposter. "True, they aren't one hundred percent right now," he admitted. "But they will be. And they're certainly smarter and have more battle sense than Deidara." He could say that without batting an eye, even though he couldn't prove it at the moment because they were both in horrible shape. Either way, he was sure he got his point across for now.

The arsonist glared at him. "Hm. I hardly call that fair," he grumbled.

Ignoring his comment, Sasori looked at the shark nin in thoughtfulness. It was too difficult to tell what he was thinking. He was likely complaining inwardly, for more reasons than one, but if that was the case he wasn't showing it. Then he turned and started back on the trail toward the base. "I suppose we will see soon enough. Though I still say they are better off dead. Now let's go. You have quite a bit of explaining to do when we return."

Groaning under his breath, Kisame quietly followed with the furious wolf in a limping tow. _Quit rubbing it in my face, _he thought as if the others could hear. Leader wasn't going to be happy with him; he knew that. So the fact Sasori was so intent on not letting him forget it was beyond annoying. However, getting Kiyoshi to the base and treated in time felt more important. That being said, he could care less what the others had to say.


	21. Curiosity Kills Cats, Not Dogs

Upon waking up, everything ached. Her arms, her legs, _especially _her head. Even her chest felt like it had a heavy weight on it that didn't want her to breathe right. She had only opened her eyes for a blip of a second before closing them again to sink into the comfort of rest, so she didn't exactly have time to process where she was. But something seemed off. There was a multitude of different scents, foreign yet familiar, beating her senses to the point she felt numb. On top of that it didn't feel as if she was sleeping on the ground and the air was strangely warm, like she was no longer outside. Kiyoshi's mind wandered at the idea as she hazily attempted to put the pieces together. Then…

With a startled gasp, her eyes flew open and she sat up so fast her body felt like it hit a glass wall that shattered on impact. She immediately hunched over, cringing and holding back a sharp whine of agony. Her nerves and muscles might as well have been on fire and ripping apart. If being awake and moving was this painful, she would have preferred staying unconscious.

Kiyoshi strained to keep her thoughts together, but she did her best to examine her surroundings despite her pain-clouded vision. _A building…? _She was inside a dim room with no windows, the only light available being a lamp near the bed she was on. There was a door, but it was closed and she was unable to see if it was locked or not. Whether this was supposed to be a room or a prison, she couldn't tell.

_Dammit, where am I?!_ She hadn't been inside for years, so this confined space was slowly putting her on the brink of panic. And she didn't see the wolf anywhere either. Where was her brother?

Forcing herself to take deep breaths, Kiyoshi attempted to calm herself enough to think. After a minute she remembered her deal with the giant shark nin about a chance to join the group he was with, as well as her reasons for doing so. The memories helped ease her panic, but not by much. Being surrounded by walls felt more horrifying than it probably should have. _M-maybe…maybe this is where he lives,_ she thought carefully. But that didn't explain what became of her brother. She couldn't even pick up his scent. _Where is he?_ After what happened, the worst possibilities were already sneaking into her mind.

No, she couldn't let herself think such awful things. Squeezing her eyes shut and shaking her head, Kiyoshi forced the thoughts to disperse so she could focus. She could only hope her brother was alright, but she wouldn't be able to find anything out by sitting here. She had to go look around and investigate.

The slightest motion caused severe aching, but the need to know if her brother was alright made her put it to the back of her mind as she kicked away whatever blankets were on her and swung her legs over the side of the bed. When she put her feet down and attempted to stand they almost didn't want to support her. However, she quickly found her balance and walked to the door. The stone wasn't as cold as she expected, and was smooth yet slightly grainy against her feet. The walls too. If she didn't know better, she would have thought this building was above ground where the sun could warm it from the outside. But the strong, earthy scent of the minor breeze coming from under the door said differently. As she slowly pried the door open, the breeze became slightly stronger before evening out with the room. _As I figured,_ she thought as her eyes adjusted. This was a tunnel. To the left there was turn off on either side of the path, one seeming to be the source of the breeze and both shrouded in darkness, and the main path abruptly stopped at a rock wall that appeared to be strangely fake. To the right the path was lined with a few lamps and other doors, leading further in.

_Well, they don't _look_like doors of a prison…_ Actually they all looked fairly normal, being a deep shade of burgundy with gold-plated handles, and a few even had name placards on them save for one which only had a bloody print on the handle. Something about it made her cringe, so she would avoid it for the time being.

Glancing around, Kiyoshi stepped into the hall. There was no one around that she could tell, and it was deathly quiet. Somewhere far off she could hear a voice or two but there was no knowing what they were saying. While she was sneaking down the hall, she thought she would go investigate, but paused as something grabbed her attention. A familiar sound.

To her left was one of the doors, and she could hear the rain-like rattling coming from the other side. _It's that sword. _Placing her ear against the door, she strained to catch the pitch of the noise. Back when she first retrieved the weapon in the forest, she noticed there were many tones to the rattling as if it were talking. It was too low and quiet for her to pick out any words if there were any, but she had quickly learned to tell the difference between what she could only guess to be the sword's emotions due to all the ruckus it created in the cavern before Kisame woke up.

This tone, in particular, was welcoming. And directed towards her. She knew this due to the lightness of the noise and the strange, expansive aura filtering through the crack beneath the door and seemingly wrapping around her ankles as if urging her to come inside. That was another thing she discovered back in the forest. The sword had an energy all it's own, and was quite temperamental. At first she couldn't even manage to pick it up due to all the spikes in its handle. Kiyoshi remembered it rattling in a low pitch, which she was later sure signified irritation and anger. She also remembered how condensed the aura was, not expanding from the sword any farther than a few inches as if in defense of itself. There was no question in the hatred and distress she sensed then. But, for some reason unknown to her, only after a few minutes the weapon's mood changed and _allowed _her to carry it back to the cave. Afterwards she could sense a peculiar calmness amongst all its chatter. It had been such an odd yet intriguing experience since Kiyoshi had only ever read about sentient beings before coming across the sword. In a way it was exciting. So, that and possibly the fact it belonged to the shark nin, she felt some sort of attachment. _Hmm…._ Her curiosity was getting the best of her, causing her to nearly forget her resolve and unease.

Perhaps a quick look around wouldn't hurt.

Making sure she didn't hear or sense anyone else, Kiyoshi quietly opened the door and peered inside the room. The first thing she noticed was the smell of mist with a hint of sea water, calming but eerie at the same time. Similar to the shark nin himself. When she stepped inside she saw basic bedroom furniture arranged around the perimeter of the room, an open closet, and scrolls either hung up on the wall or stacked in bins. There was also a table in the corner with a few books scattered on the surface. One she recognized as her sign language guide. From that she knew this definitely had to be Kisame's room. No one else could be in possession of the book but him, she was sure. And she would have gone to examine it, if the sword's rattling hadn't become more insistent.

The weapon was set up against the wall near the bed, balancing on its hilt. Its bandages rippled to mimic the chatter. Kiyoshi wondered if they would rip but they remained intact, and the sound faded from a rough showery noise to a soft contented pattering. Once she found herself standing in front of the weapon she leaned slightly closer and tilted her head in curiosity. _So…_ she thought as if to communicate with it. _…why did you call me over to you?_

The rattling slowed to a stop, almost like the sword was responding. Obviously she couldn't make much sense of the action. Though she knew of some things, most of the sword's behavior was a mystery to her. After all, it wasn't like the wolves, whereas she had years to learn their ways and tricks. What she was seeing here only made her wonder if something was wrong even if the atmosphere made no hint at the possibility.

Long seconds went by. In twinge of confusion, Kiyoshi reached a hand toward the weapon's bandaging in hopes of jarring the sentient creature back into responsiveness. As the memory of her first encounter came to mind, she half expected spikes to come rushing out of the bandages to stab at her. However, much to her surprise, something very different happened. As her fingers brushed against the bandaging she felt a surge of energy flow from the sword and into her arm, then spread to the rest of her cells.

Kiyoshi jerked her hand away and rubbed it nervously. It felt like an abrupt, heavy shockwave. And, she wasn't positive but, it seemed like chakra. She recognized the sensation, only it wasn't followed by exhaustion. Actually she didn't feel as worn out as a short while ago, and her body didn't feel so painfully constricted. What the hell _was_ that?

That's when creaking noises came from the doorway, and she turned her head to see the shark nin standing just inside the room and eyeing her suspiciously as if he had been there for some time…and saw something baffling. How he managed it without her noticing was beyond her, but that wasn't the first thing she wanted to discuss now that she saw him. Several questions angrily came to mind, and she was going to get her answers one way or another.


	22. Panic

There really was no way of ignoring her once she started, no matter what someone else might believe. Because the shark nin was paying so close attention on Kiyoshi's signing to make sure he read it correctly, he almost couldn't focus on what to say in response. He was also confused as to why _his_ sword gave _her_ chakra. He wasn't sure if he should feel insulted or...relieved.

At the bewildering prospect he shook his head, and gathered his mind enough to interrupt before she could finish her sentence. "You shouldn't be in here."

Kiyoshi paused and glared at him. Like a child she stomped her foot and signed again. *What does that matter! Where is he?*

Seriously? He couldn't tell if she was disregarding him or jumping to her own point. Or both. "The mutt ran off in a frenzy before we could get him inside the base. If he's lucky, Deidara hasn't found him yet. Which I doubt he has, considering it's been four days now."

For a moment she seemed to think he was joking, likely about the time frame, but then her eyes turned green. Kisame was almost positive this color meant confusion. *If he is lucky?*

_Oh, that's right. She still doesn't know about that rule... _He could only blame himself for the slipup, despite his reason for avoiding the subject. _Well, I guess now is as good a time as any. _"Kiyoshi, running away from the Akatsuki is a guaranteed death sentence. The situation doesn't matter; so much as knowing a member, excluding our informants, is enough to be exterminated for the discretion and secrecy of what we do. Especially since you basically know where our hideout is now."

Her eyes grew wide with panic at the explanation. Without even responding she shoved passed the shark nin with a snarl and bolted down the hall, quickly rounding the corner toward one of the base exits. "Hey-! Dammit!" When he used a form of teleportation jutsu to cut her off, she simply dodged around him and kept going as if it were nothing, and she was running so fast he quickly lost sight of her. _What?! _It had to be the effects of the chakra Samehada gave her. Otherwise she wouldn't have been able to move like that. And Kisame knew she was still far from a full recovery. Shocking as it was, he had no choice but to give chase.

There was no telling what was going through her head, but it was clearly one of two things: she was panicking over the whereabouts of the wolf, or she was terrified by the nature of the situation she was in. Either way he had to catch her before someone else did.

After devising a plan Kisame took a sharp turn into the next tunnel. It was a shortcut to the exit and at his speed he could stop her there.

* * *

><p><strong>My worst sin for this chapter is not making it longer -w-''' Don't worry, the next one's better.<strong>


	23. Why Do You Even Care!

Tunnel after tunnel went by, and once or twice Kiyoshi hesitated before making a turn. She had to make sure she was following the outdoors' scent correctly as it flowed through the passageways on the nearly undetectable breeze. One false turn in this labyrinth could turn her around completely and she'd be lost. Focusing on that could just as easily send her into a downward tailspin so she had to focus solely on the goal of quickly finding her brother. The thought of him being alone with his injuries somewhere, waiting to be hunted down by that '_Deidara' _human gave her an extra burst of speed. And before long the walls opened up, the exit coming into view as light filtered into the tunnel. She was almost out, mere feet away.

But she cut off dead in her tracks with a startled gasp as she was suddenly met by a silhouette dashing into her path from the right, just outside the tunnel. Only the familiarity of the aura kept her from attacking when two hands latched onto her shoulders and roughly shoved her back.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Kisame snapped. "I told you, you can't just leave now that you're here!" There was a hint of urgency behind his intense, aggravated tone which stopped Kiyoshi from retaliating in anger. Recalling what he said a moment ago, she was glad he was giving her a small chance to explain herself. No matter how much trust she had in him she already guessed, rather knew, he had responsibilities to the group he worked for, and wouldn't put it past him to do something rash for the sake of that.

She abruptly yanked out of his grip and signed frantically, *I must find my brother!*

He frowned angrily, clearly not accepting her half-hazard explanation. "_Are _you trying to _run off_?" he asked pointedly.

*NO!* _Why would I?! _Kiyoshi thought in a scream. _There's no point! _At that her desperation won over common sense and she used what she had in strength to ram past the shark nin and take off in the first direction she thought the wolf might have went. The trail was old but close, first heading into the trees for a distance then doubling back toward the face of a rocky, shallow-angled cliff some ways away from the tunnel entrance. She heard Kisame shouting after her as he trailed a short distance behind the whole time. Try as she might and as much as she wanted to, she couldn't ignore his presence. His aura was bordering hostility and the sword was reacting to it with a sharp rattle. If she was going to find her brother she had to do so before he could close the gap. And she was in no condition, nor was there time to be in a fight.

The wolf's trail continued up the mountainside and his scent grew stronger as she leaped from one jagged boulder to the next, quickly making her way past the remnants of a landslide. By the time she reached a stable ledge there was a hundred foot drop below, and Kiyoshi's senses were telling her the wolf was somewhere within hearing distance. Now was just a matter of looking...

Above her was another ledge and then a cliff too steep to climb, even for her brother with his wounds. But farther along the cliff was a narrow rift that could possibly be a small cave. The path to it was precarious and inobvious but not impossible, even for a wolf in bad shape. _If he didn't go any farther he could be there, _she thought as hope dared to spark despite her fear and worry.

Kiyoshi took a step to continue, but as she was about to leap to the next edge she was yanked back and forced behind a protruding boulder. Her anxiety skyrocketed when she realized her pausing had let Kisame catch up to her. She snarled and thrashed to get away but he had her pinned against the boulder, and with one arm. _He's stronger than before... _The thought sent an uncomfortable chill up her spine. However, it settled when she saw his back was against the boulder as well and he was watching the sky.

_What is he looking at? _The second she attempted to lean forward, Kisame prompted her in a hushed tone to be quiet then added, "Don't move." Even the sword didn't make a sound when an object came into view from above. It was so far she almost couldn't tell what it was, but she was able to make out the shape of wings. _A white bird?_

For a long minute they stayed perfectly still, eyes trained on the bird until it made a full u-turn and left in another direction. It was quiet a moment more, then the shark nin sent her a sharp glare. "Do that again and I won't hesitate to cut you to shreds, runt," he growled.

She ignored the insult and the change of subject, more interested in the current situation. *The bird,* she signed when Kisame let her free. *What was it?*

"_That _was Deidara. The bird is a clay object he controls, and he's using it to patrol the area again for that mutt of yours," he said, glancing back at the sky to confirm the bird was gone for now. "The brat's a newbie, but his jutsu is nothing to sneeze at. When he finds the wolf, it's charred road kill."

At the comment Kiyoshi smacked the shark nin's arm to get his attention. *_He,*_ she corrected in irritation. *And I found him, and he will come back with me!*

"Well, then where is he?"

She stepped out from behind the boulder and pointed toward the rift, glancing at him to be sure he saw it then signed, *First guess.*

"You _guess? _I am not going to help you on a _guess."_

Giving him an 'are-you-serious' look, she gestured to the sky to recall what took place hardly a few minutes ago, knowing he would basically know what she was saying without having to see it. _Then what the hell was _that _supposed to be about? _She wasn't an idiot. Clearly he had kept her from being seen so she wouldn't be hunted like a traitor for the time being.

"Did you want to be killed? If you are seen outside the base without an escort _everyone _has orders to take you down on sight!"

*Then what is stopping you?* she challenged with a scowl. After asking it occurred to her it could be about the deal they agreed upon, and she waited for Kisame to respond with something according to that nature or maybe a remark with no purpose other than to sidestep her question. But seconds went by, and he didn't answer at all. Instead his eyebrows furrowed and he was giving her a bizarre look like he was studying her question but at a loss.

Impatient, Kiyoshi bared her teeth in a jeer then leaped to the next rocky shelf. What did that dumb shark's reason matter anyway? Right now he was only distracting her from what mattered and she wasn't going to let her brother be killed because of a ridiculous law of a _human pack_ she didn't know! She wasn't going to take that, especially from him! He could blow it out his gills!


	24. Where the Blame Falls

Without pausing to see if Kisame was going to follow her, she began quickly crossing the unsteady path. Halfway across a loose outcrop fell out from under her feet. Only a snap decision keeping her from plummeting to the bottom of the cliff, and she dashed the rest of the way to find herself directly in front of the rift. There was indeed a sort of cave that led deep into the cliff and she didn't waste time climbing in to investigate. As she had hoped the wolf's scent was far stronger here than anywhere else.

Even with the daylight it was nearly pitch black and her eyes took some time to adjust before she was able to view the cave for what it was. The walls were as jagged as the boulders at the bottom of the mountain, and there was no definite floor or ceiling, making it difficult to balance. They were nothing more than massive cracks where the walls met. Claw marks, scraps of black fur, and small, dry drops of blood were evident in the ridges where her brother must have scrambled to get to safety from the one who hunted him. Kiyoshi swallowed hard at the idea of what state he might be in now. Her stomach churned to the point she felt nauseous.

When she was well inside the cave, Kiyoshi whimpered quietly to call out for her brother in wolf tongue as she slowly continued. _"Where are you? Answer..." _The hushed cries echoed, bouncing off the rocks and traveling through the darkness. When there was no response she tried again.

And again.

And again.

Then she heard a shift and the clattering of loose shards among the ridges ahead, and she noticed the back of the cave was wider and there was another fissure to the right pointing back toward the front of the cliff. She stepped in, and was met with a low groan and the smell of blood and infection. Her eyes couldn't adjust to the dark anymore, but she was just able to make out the shape of a massive body curled unsteadily against the slanted wall.

She could hear the wolf breathing, but he was making no attempt to move and was giving off a growl. Was he even aware it was her and not one of the strangers approaching him? Changing the pitch in her tone, Kiyoshi tried another word.

_"Brother?"_

* * *

><p>Otouto slightly opened his eyes in confusion. He was facing the back wall since he was unable to turn around before slumping in this position days ago. Since then he hadn't moved, leaving his wounds to become so infectious he couldn't smell anything past the acridity. He was so focused on his left ear the other wasn't sure of what it was hearing, and it was virtually impossible to see out of his right eye. The darkness of this accursed cave helped none. All of his senses just felt broken.<p>

_Who is that...? _It was a voice he didn't recognize. Originally he thought the hunter might have found him, but why- _how _would a human know wolf tongue and then openly announce they were looking for him? Why call him 'Brother'? The only logical conclusion was he had been hearing things, still in a state of mourning over Ani and for failing his sister when he let instinct take priority over her.

Wait. _Is it...? _There was no way. She couldn't possibly know the wolf language, could she? The wolf lifted his head and strained so his good eye was facing the mouth of the fissure. The shape he saw was half shrouded in black and the other half with little light or color. Then his eyes widened, and he was overwhelmed with relief to finally recognize the shadow. "Imouto!"

He hauled himself up in haste, forcing his paws beneath him as he clumsily turned around. Though his balance miserably faltered and his wounds fiercely ached, Otouto scrambled until he reached his sister. Or rather, until she reached him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed into his fur before he let his head rest on her shoulder as a heavy weight he could not hold up on his own.

Four days of not knowing where his sister was or if she was alright. What if those wretched humans had let her die, or killed her? They were already set in stealing _his _pelt. And he had the gall to call himself pack oriented. He was a poor excuse for a wolf.

Then, why did Imouto search for him? He had bitten her, caused an avalanche that could have killed them both, left her at the mercy of a human, and abandoned her because his instincts forbade him from going into a stranger's den as well as capture. She had every reason to hate him and disown him as a brother, and he couldn't blame her. In his mind he deserved to be saddled with these infected wounds.

Yet he sensed no grudge or anger from her. Only joy, love, and worry. It was as if she never paid mind to his mistakes. She was far more forgiving than he could have hoped.

Most of all, his sister was alive. To him, it was all that mattered.

* * *

><p><strong>Congrats! :D Now you're all caught up with my other readers on wattpad and you know just as much as anyone else! (hehehe... ^w^''' )<strong>

**Thank you for reading so far! I really appreciate it!**


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